The Wrestling and the Feast

The Kalevipoeg (Son of Kalev) is the Estonian national epic, compiled by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–1882) from folk songs, oral traditions, and his own literary composition. Published in its definitive form in 1857–1861, it tells in twenty cantos the life of the giant hero Kalevipoeg — son of the mythical king Kalev and his wife Linda — from his birth through his adventures to his tragic end chained at the gates of the underworld.

Canto XIX opens with the promised wrestling match against Sarvik, lord of the underworld. Kalevipoeg has drunk the strength-water (guided by the shadow-mother in Canto XVIII); Sarvik has drunk the weakness-water by mistake. Yet the struggle lasts seven days and seven nights. When the hero's strength begins to fail, the shadow-mother — Linda's ghost at the spinning wheel — demonstrates the answer: she spins the whorl ten times and flings it to the floor. Kalevipoeg copies the gesture with Sarvik's body. The binding, the taunting, the gold-plundering, and the long climb out follow. On the surface, Alev has waited three weeks at the cave's mouth. They feast on a great ox that no one else could slaughter.

The canto's second half is the feast at Lindanisa — one of the richest scenes in the epic. Three companions each sing a folk song: the singer tells of the Siuru-bird (the Pleiades), Taara's daughter, who flies across three worlds seeking suitors for lonely maidens; Alevipoeg sings of staves thrown to the field that become islands and oaks and sea; Sulevipoeg sings of hop and courtship. The dramatic irony is devastating: while they drink and sing, the narrator tells us that war-messengers are already riding toward the city. The Lapp sage Varrak arrives and requests an iron-bound book found in a tower — the book of Kalev's laws, the record of Estonia's ancient freedom. Kalevipoeg gives it away: "An ox by its horn, a man by his word." At last the war-news breaks through. Kalevipoeg cannot sleep; he goes to his father's grave and finds only wind, dew, and ghost-shadows. No answer comes.

This is a Good Works Translation by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, translated from the Estonian text of the 1857 first edition as preserved in Project Gutenberg (#25062). The parallelism and alliteration of Estonian regivärss are preserved in the line structure. No existing English translation was consulted as a source.

Part One — The Greatest Wrestling Match

(Lines 1–26)

At the borders of old age,
Traces of fallen battles
Have left their marks behind
More thickly than in our days;
Yet of Kalev's son's deeds
Shines brighter than the sun
The most renowned test of strength,
The mightiest wrestling-match
In the Lord of Hell's homestead.

Forest and mountain noted it,
Rocky hills listened,
Bogs and marshes received the word,
Water-waves the tidings:
For the earth rumbled
And the sea foamed white,
Testifying to the heavy work.

On the field they readied
Beneath the yard a fitting place
As the wrestling-ground.
In the old fashion they seized
Each other's hips with the palms,
Grasped the trouser-waistband
With the grip of ten nails
To test their bodily might.
Blood flowed beneath the nails,
Blue bruises into the fingers.

Part Two — Seven Days and Seven Nights

(Lines 27–46)

Though the strength-sapping water,
The weakening cup's moisture,
Had drained the Evil One's strength,
Had greatly wearied his might,
Kalev's strong son
Had been steeled by the double draught
Of the body-strengthening water —
Yet still the wrestling lasted,
The men's victory-contest,
Seven days without ceasing,
Seven nights without ending,
Before they reached a clear decision
In the battle's victory.

Old Sarvik secretly
Tried by tripping crosswise
To tumble
Dear Kalevipoeg,
Who like a sturdy oak-trunk,
Heavier than a boulder,
Did not stumble from his place.

Part Three — The Shadow-Mother's Spindle

(Lines 47–84)

Turn and turn they lifted
Each other up,
Crashed one another down again,
Crash after crash,
Like thunderclaps
Shaking the fields,
Rocking the cliffs,
Raising the water to foam.

Kalev's clever son
Knew how to keep himself nimbly —
Managed above the grip his fingers,
Like an eel below the grip
To slip from the Hell-dweller's fist,
His hooked foot always
Readied as a brace;
Yet the strong one's might
Began at last to weaken.

The shadow-mother with watchful eyes
Saw her son's weakening,
Took in hand the spinning-whorl,
Spun it ten times
Over her head around,
Threw it — crack! — to the floor
As example for Kalevipoeg.

Kalev's strong son
Understood the mother's meaning,
Read it wisely —
Seized the shin-straps,
Sarvik's knee-buckles,
Lifted him at wind-speed
High like a spindle,
Spun him ten times —
The old man like a ball of tow —
Flung him with all his force
Splat! down upon the grass;
Set knees upon his chest,
Fists at his throat,
Began to throttle the old man.

Part Four — Sarvik Bound

(Lines 85–103)

He took the belt from around his waist
To bind the Evil One.
Then dragged the foe
In fetters to the iron chamber,
Bound him in shackle-irons,
Set chains in bonds upon
His hands and feet,
Bound a third fetter
By the ring to his neck,
A fourth about his waist;
Fastened the chain-ends
To the cliff-wall;
Rolled a boulder from the field,
Sauna-sized, to the door,
To which the neck-chains
Were knotted with a knot
And fixed with iron cramps,
So that Sarvik could not step from the room
Nor move a foot from the chamber.

Part Five — The Taunt and the Warning

(Lines 104–149)

Kalev's strong son
Wiped the sweat from his brow,
Speaking in mockery:

"Don't be sad, you mourning-bird,
Fettered rooster!
Let not the time grow dreary
Suffering in prison!
Cry your sorrow to the cliffs,
Your heart's ache to the forests,
Your heaviness to the boulders,
Your misery to the woodpiles!
Send your wishes to the bog,
Your sighs to the thistles,
Your complaints to the juniper!
Our debt is settled, little brother,
The wrongs are righted;
Fortune has made the end of justice,
Given victory to the stronger."

Old Sarvik spoke in reply:

"Had I known, could I have known,
Foreseen and understood,
In hindsight perceived,
Ever seen in a dream
What is now laid upon me
And thrown to me as misery —
I would not have stepped from my home chamber
Nor from behind the stove,
Would not have strode after your tracks
To roam upon the open field,
To gaze upon the plains.

Dear Kalevipoeg,
Victor mighty, little brother!
Don't crow before evening,
Don't praise the day's course
Until the sun at twilight
Has gone down to rest!
The fortune-egg has a thin shell;
The heart of misery is tougher;
Before evening, ill fortune
May still bring six troubles.

Cast mercy, dear brother,
Quench the guilt with gold,
Cover it with silver's shade!"

When the strong one would not listen,
Old Sarvik began to curse,
To condemn with evil words.

Part Six — The Gold Treasury

(Lines 150–191)

Kalevipoeg
Let his steps go merrily
To the old man's dollar-rooms,
The gold-treasury chamber,
Where gold stood in chests,
Silver in salves in heaps,
Secretly stored.

He began to shovel gold,
Scattering silver,
Gathering it into sacks.
Filled one sack, filled two,
Filled a third sack,
For fun a fourth.

When he was taking a fifth,
A mouse cried from the vent-hole:

"Don't take, little brother,
Too much in foolish greed!
The road is long for the walker,
The burden heavy for the carrier."

Kalevipoeg understood,
Threw the fifth sack
Empty on the barrel's edge,
Tied the others two by two,
Bound mouth to mouth
So they could easily be lifted
On the shoulders and carried on the back.

The gold-sacks were not large
Nor very small —
Perhaps three barrels' worth,
Six Riga bushels' worth
Of load in each sack.

Kalev's strong son
Set one pair of sacks
On the right shoulder,
The other pair on the left,
Pressing against his sides;
Then set off walking home,
Stretching out his steps.

The iron bridge creaked,
The foundation-beams cracked,
The cornerstones bent
Under Kalevipoeg carrying gold.

Part Seven — The Curse and the Long Road

(Lines 192–238)

The old wife of the underworld
From behind the stove yawping,
From the hearth-bench scolding,
With big mouth cursing:

"May it be, may it be, I curse!
May you fall dead upon the road,
Choke upon the open field,
Expire in the alder-grove,
Break in the birch-wood,
Hang behind the stove,
Freeze at the roadside,
Stiffen behind the bush,
Rot in the forest-brake,
Sour in the meadows,
Decay in the thicket,
Moulder in the mossy bog!
May your body become fodder,
Good fare for the wolves,
Beak-morsel for the ravens,
Gnawing-meat for the forest-cubs!"

Kalev's strong son,
Unstopped by the curses,
Trudged the heavy road
Step by step,
Though the gold-load pressed his neck,
The treasure weighed down his shoulders.

When he had walked a stretch,
Travelled the underworld road
Toward the edge of daylight,
He stopped awhile to rest,
To refresh his tired body.
Whether he slept an hour
Or rested a day —
The man could get no sign
Nor mark of time.

No hardship's delays
Nor spite's fetters
Were obstacles for Kalevipoeg
On the road through the underworld.

Part Eight — Alev at the Mouth of the Abyss

(Lines 239–304)

Meanwhile light from the upper world
Began to shine,
Began to end the night,
Scattering the darkness.

Kalev's strong son
Groaned beneath the gold-load;
Heat reddened his cheeks,
Made his hair run with sweat,
His body steam all over.
With dry tongue burning,
The man puffed a hot scent.

Alev, dear son —
Who could not bear to go home —
Sat alone at the mouth of the abyss,
At the lip of the cave,
There where Kalev with bold step
Had gone to the underworld.
Alev waited with loving care,
Waited morning and evening,
With watchful eyes in the night's chill;
Time stretched to a year's tedium
In the man's troubled mind —
For perhaps the friend had already
Found death in misery.

One evening, at the turn of day,
There came as from far off
A strong man's heavy footfall
Into Alev's hearing;
From the earth's depths a rumbling rose,
From the deep a treading.

Alev tried to reckon,
Along the sounds to peer
Into the deep,
To spy whether he might find
Kalevipoeg's path,
His rising from somewhere.

Dusk had already taken the night
Into dew's embrace to refresh it —
Then at last Kalev stepped
Onto the edge of this world,
Threw down the gold-sacks,
The silver-sacks from his shoulders,
Fell himself on the open ground
To stretch his back-sinews,
To lengthen his tired body.

Alev the young
Quickly fetched water,
A refreshing tongue-wetting
For the dear treasure-carrier.

Kalevipoeg asking:
"Tell me, dear brother —
Have I been gone long,
Spent time in the shadow-realm?"

Alev told the tale —
How perhaps three weeks
The journey had consumed.

Kalevipoeg spoke:
"No living soul could have known it,
No mind could have guessed,
No quick wit calculated.
There stand no boundary-posts,
No time-markers in the sky
By which to measure a day,
To reckon the length of a night.
The underworld's day shows no sun,
The night no moon gleaming,
No stars upon the sky.
In the alder-grove you find no bird,
No cuckoo calling anywhere,
No dew-coats on the grass,
No beautiful dew-moisture
By which night and day's borders
Might tell the watcher apart."

Then he spoke at length
Of how his hand had fared in the underworld —
Five-fold delays,
Six-fold fetters
Had bound his path,
Until at last by the victory of wrestling
Sarvik was put into bonds,
Into firm chains.

Part Nine — The Great Ox

(Lines 305–374)

Alev had killed an ox,
Slain a forest-bull
That had never been in a yoke,
Had not seen a plough in seven summers,
Had not ploughed the land in ten years.
Every year before, the bull
Was sought for feasts,
Driven to the yard,
Men wanting to kill it,
To slaughter the great bull,
To take its mighty life.
A thousand men at its back,
A hundred at its horns,
Ten at its bell,
Seventy at its tail —
There was not a man in our land,
Not a stronger from elsewhere,
Who could have struck its head
And stunned it,
Who could have slaughtered the great bull.

Alev the young —
He it was who killed the great bull.
He leapt upon its neck,
Seized it by the horns —
Then the axe to its skull,
The slaughter-blade to its head,
The knife to its throat;
A hundred barrels of blood flowed,
A thousand bushels of meat rose.

The strong men together
Took their evening portion,
Refreshing their bodies;
Kalev's strong son
Let his belly swell round,
His stomach heap up,
Fell upon the grass
To let the bread settle into his bones.

Young Alev sat
On the gold-sacks,
On the silver's bosom,
Guarding the treasure —
That no robber might plunder,
No thief come to steal,
No pickpocket touch.

Kalev's strong son
Rested from hell's vexation,
From the wrestling's weariness,
From the gold-load's exhaustion —
Rested a night and rested a day,
Slept a second day in slumber's embrace,
Until the third day's mid-morning.
For a mile the snoring carried,
The sound of his breathing,
Like horse-hooves thundering,
A war-ride over a bridge,
Crushing the ground,
Pounding the trees and bushes.

On the third day's midpoint
The men set off;
Alev took one sack on his back,
Three remained as Kalev's burden.

Part Ten — Lindanisa and the Courtship Plan

(Lines 375–468)

Kalevipoeg,
Who after his underworld journey
Had brought much good to our land,
Useful things for all —
Lived himself in Lindanisa
In the company of his friends.

Olev the wise, the city-sage,
Had built three more cities:
One city to the south,
A second to the east,
A third to the northeast,
Providing shelter for the old,
A resting-place for the aged.

Kalevipoeg had spent
One sack of gold on founding three cities;
Three more lay hidden in the chamber
For other works to come.

Friends sat together,
Entreating Kalevipoeg:
"Take your goblets, little brother,
Put bride-gifts in the sacks,
Enticements in the pouches —
Go courting at Kungla,
Seeking a bride!
In Kungla grows a home-hen,
Four maidens;
Let us go bird-catching,
Gathering from the fold,
Snaring from the alder-grove!
Kungla's maidens weave cloth,
Work gold-threaded goods,
Weave silver-threaded,
Smooth silken,
Twine red-ribboned."

Kalevipoeg understood,
Jestingly replying:
"Let us go city-building,
Wall-casting,
Bridal-chamber raising,
Silken-bed setting!
Let us build a city of flowers,
Towers of bird-cherry,
Walls round about of maple,
Rooms of oak-acorns,
Chambers of egg-shell —
So that strangers coming from afar
Would stop to stare,
The wise to wonder,
The sage to testify:
For whom has Kalev built this city?
For whom has he cast these walls?
Kalev built a joy-city,
Raised a bridal chamber,
Cast a bed of gold,
Bound a bed of silk.
You would have to crawl inside
To see the fun within:
Inside it is bound with silk,
The edges trimmed with silver,
The borders made of velvet,
Of triple gold braiding,
Topped with hazelnuts,
Bottomed with planted apples,
Between them flashing cherry-wood,
In the middle pretty stones.

Take care of the horses,
Feed the steeds,
Nourish the saddle-carriers,
Refresh the dusty stallion!
Take them first to the grass,
Before dawn to the paddock,
Before time to the spring,
Before day to the field's edge;
Feed the steed in secret,
Give a bushel before dawn,
A measure at daybreak,
Two at mid-morning,
A broad bushel at noon!
Feed one month, feed two,
Feed a piece of a third month,
A week perhaps of a fourth —
Then the steed to the harness,
The grey between the shafts!
Then I shall ride the courtship-road,
Rush to the maiden-ways,
To the curly-necked chambers,
To the kerchiefed ladies' rooms.
Dew falls on the fur-coat,
Mist on the new jacket,
Rain-drops on the mantle,
Hail on the head-cloth —
Then Kalev shall go a-courting,
To take a young wife."

Part Eleven — The Singer's Song of the Siuru-Bird

(Lines 459–575)

Kalev's dear son
Sat in the company of his friends;
Mirth-chiming rose from the table,
Jest-clamour from the chamber.
Circling went the cups,
Mead-cups in the men's hands,
Happily the men caroused.
They flung upon the floor,
Splashing out white foam
As offering to the house-guardians,
To the mighty dwelling-keepers.
Fresh bread was carried
To Uku's stone as gift.

The singer sat behind the table,
The harp-player among the others,
Let his song take flight:

"Five there were on the old meadow,
Six were golden in the spruce-grove,
Seven were secrets in the moss,
Eight among the heather —
From there I knotted words together,
Gathered tidings,
Silver-bright revelations:

Siuru-bird, Taara's daughter,
Siuru-bird, blue-winged,
With silk-fringed feathers —
Born without her father's bidding,
Grew without her mother's brooding,
Without her sisters' wishing,
Against her brothers' will.
The bird had no nest,
The swallow-child no brooding-place
To renew her mist-plumage,
To grow her blood-feathers.

But Uku prepared,
The Grandfather fashioned
For his daughter wind-wings,
Wind-wings, cloud-trails,
So the child might glide,
Be carried to far places.

Siuru-bird, Taara's daughter,
Siuru-bird, blue-winged,
Flew far, glided far,
Flew, glided southward,
Turned crosswise toward the north,
Flew over three worlds.
One world was of maidens,
The second of grown curly-heads,
The third the stooping-ones' home,
The stooping-ones' gathering-place.

Siuru-bird, straight-winged,
Stretched out her silk-wings,
Flew, glided toward the sun,
Near to the city of the sun,
To the moon's glowing dwelling,
To the small bronze gate.

Siuru-bird, straight-winged,
Stretched out her silk-wings,
Flew far, glided far,
Turned homeward at evening.

Her father asked the daughter:
'Where have you glided in your flying,
Where did you go in the distance,
What did you see, marten-eyes?'

Siuru understood, answered back,
Answered back without fear:
'Where I glided and slid,
There I left feather-traces;
Where I turned in my going,
There fell silk-feathers;
Where I beat my wings,
From my tail shook plumage.

What my marten-eyes saw —
Of that there are seven tales to tell,
Eight to speak of.
Long I followed the Thunder-road,
The rainbow's rain-road,
Along the heavy hail-road;
Long I went both ways,
Slid smooth along the paths,
Until I found three worlds:
One world was of maidens,
The second of grown curly-heads,
The third the stooping-ones' home,
The stooping-ones' gathering-place,
Where those fair ones grew,
Where the silk-soft ones straightened.'

'What you heard, tell forth,
What you saw, show forth!'

'What I heard, dear father,
What I saw, little father?
I heard the maidens' jesting,
Their jesting, their sorrowing,
The curly-heads' teasing,
The stooping-ones' crying:
Why these playful maidens,
These curly-headed ones,
Always live alone,
Long for one to warm them —
Was asked in every quarter.
Has the father no star-son,
A star-son or some other,
Who would go to free the maiden,
To court the curly-headed?'

Taara understood, answered at once:
'Fly, daughter, glide, daughter!
Fly, daughter, southward,
Glide slipping westward,
From the west crosswise northward,
Slip before Uku's door,
Beneath the western mother's threshold,
Along the northern mother's garden-wall:
Ask for suitors,
Beg for maiden-rescuers!'"

Part Twelve — Alevipoeg's Song

(Lines 576–657)

Kalev's famous son
Sat in the company of his friends.
Mirth-chiming rose from the table,
Jest-clamour from the chamber,
Circling went the cups,
Mead-cups in the men's hands,
Happily the men caroused.

Alevipoeg, the young lad,
Let his song take flight:

"Wet your throats, dear ones!
Foam for the dwelling-guardians!
Drink your mead, young men,
Clatter your cups,
That not a drop remain at the bottom,
No dew-moisture in the cups!

I throw the switches on the field,
The boards broad into the alder-grove,
The handles into the rowan-tree.
Where those switches were thrown,
There great islands were born;
Where I spread the boards,
There wise oaks arose;
Where I scattered the handles,
There I settled the clouds;
Where the moisture fell to earth,
There the sea came to play,
The waves to shimmer wide.

What grew in that sea?
In the sea grew two trees:
One was a lucky apple-tree,
The other a wise little oak.
The branches were full of squirrels,
The leaves of singing-birds,
In the middle eagles nested.
A river ran beneath the roots,
Fish swam along the banks,
Whitefish great, backs black,
Salmon broad, with lids half-closed.

Women stood there jesting,
Stood knee-deep in the sea,
Flax-heads in the waves,
Curly-heads in the fish-spawn.
What did those maidens catch,
What fish did those dear ones get?
The fish caught the catchers,
The salmon-fish the little ones;
But the water took my brother,
The waves smothered the child.

I went to seek my brother,
Mother wept for the young one;
I went straight into the waves,
Neck-deep into the fish-spawn,
Into the deep grave-places.
What did I find in the waves?
I found a sword in the sea,
A gleaming blade in the waves.

As I took hold of the sword,
My sister called from the bank:
'Come home, little brother,
Come quickly home!
Father lies on his deathbed,
Mother breathes her last,
Brother already gasps,
Sister was lifted onto shoulders,
The maiden laid upon the floor.'

I went weeping on my way,
Quickly walking homeward.

'Oh you liar, you deceiver,
Double-tongued tale-bearer!
Father sits in the middle of the room,
Ale-cup in the old man's hand;
Mother shears the silk-sheep,
Golden scissors in her hand;
Sister kneads the fancy bread,
Silver rings upon her fingers;
But brother ploughs the fallow,
Hump-backed oxen in the yoke.
The humped one ploughs up shillings,
The furrow turns up old coins,
He raises nothing but thalers.
A bushel-measure of shillings,
A peck of old coins for me,
A tun-full of thalers.'"

Part Thirteen — Sulevipoeg's Song

(Lines 658–730)

Kalev's famous son
Sat in the company of his friends,
Mirth-chiming rose from the table,
Jest-clamour from the chamber,
Circling went the cups,
Mead-cups in the men's hands,
Happily the men caroused.

Sulevipoeg, the young lad,
Let his song take flight:

"Hops, proud on the bush-top,
Cone, fair in the stump-hollow,
When it grows climbing high,
Stretches its tendrils twining
Round the pole and post.
Let us be nimble, young men,
To take it from the post,
To gather the clusters!
Set them on the rack to dry,
Against the threshing-barn wall;
From there it rises to the kettle,
Dives straight into the barrel,
Creeps into the ale-cask;
Turns the sense in men's heads,
Half the sense in women's heads,
And fools the daughters outright.

When my beloved was walking,
My brother riding to court,
He went across the open field,
Walked through the heather;
Four maidens came toward him,
Four fair curly-heads.

The suitor asked:
'Why are you, young ones, on the meadow,
Walking far from home?'

The maidens understood, answered back,
The girls spoke thus:
'We go to town, little birds,
To the borough, darlings,
To the market, little doves,
To the street, silly ones!
At the feast the farm-lads
Mock the maidens,
In the village run cruel tongues,
In the parish many liars
Who slander the girls,
Who insult the doves.'

I went to catch the maidens,
To tease the girls:
'Show your face, young maiden,
Your red-cheeked trimmings!'

The maidens quickly fled,
Flew across the open field
With quick step toward the village.
I followed with quickening step,
Ran on strong heels,
Peered through the gateway,
Spied through the wall:
The heavy-footed ones were sleeping — —

When I'd seen that jest,
Straightaway my heart went numb,
Froze in winter's cold.

'Hops, proud on the bush-top,
Cone, fair in the stump-hollow —
Don't creep into the maidens' heads!
To the maiden you bring no jest:
From long beauty rises only weeping.'"

Part Fourteen — While the War Rides

(Lines 731–866)

Kalev's famous son
Sat in the company of his friends,
Mirth-chiming rose from the table,
Jest-clamour from the chamber,
Circling went the cups,
Mead-cups in the men's hands,
Happily the men caroused —
Nor could they know beforehand,
Nor in their thoughts foresee,
Nor in their wits reckon
What misfortune, on the heels of jesting,
Might by morning grow
Before the breaking of dawn.

Already hurrying went the orders,
War-tidings riding,
Already steeds were harnessed,
Ears in bearskin hoods
Flying toward Lindanisa
To bring the king
The heavy news of war.

From Pskov's borders rushed a lad,
Another from Latvia's flatlands,
From the other side of Taara's oak-grove
Bearing sorrow's tidings,
Speaking the tale of war.
To Latvia had come by ship
Iron men like hailstones;
From beyond Peipsi another swarm
From Russia's broad plains,
From the lingonberry-land's borders —
They who came to seize our goods,
To shatter our peaceful days,
To end our feast of pleasure.

Hasten, messenger-feet,
Sad tidings in your pouches,
The elder's commands in your jackets!

Kalev's famous son
Sat in the company of his friends,
Roaring in the chamber,
And with a crash
Let his merry song take flight:

"Drink, drink, brothers!
Let us taste the sweet mead,
Go wild in the hops,
Raise a cheer with the ale-cup,
A long feast with the beaker!
Let us clatter the cups —
Throwing foam to the ground,
Splashing it on the floor —
Then fortune shall flourish,
A fairer time shall begin!

I throw the switches into the cherry-tree,
The cup-lids into the birch-grove,
I spread the boards in the alder-grove,
The bottoms I pound onto the field.
Tomorrow I'll go searching,
Before daylight go looking:
What have those switches in the cherry-tree,
Those cup-lids in the birch-grove,
Those boards in the broad alder-grove,
Those bottom-boards on the field
Grown before the dawn,
Blossomed in the night's coolness?

From the switch grew a child's cradle,
From the cup-lid a village swing,
From the boards came singing-benches,
From the bottoms telling-seats.

Village maidens, darlings,
Curly-necks swinging,
Singing merry songs;
They sang the waves to waving,
The ships on the waves to rocking.
They went to launch a boat,
To sing among the waves,
Set their beads upon the willow,
Their pearls upon the hay-stack,
Their chains upon the tall stone,
Their ribbons upon the broad sand,
Their rings upon the gravel.

A pike came from beneath the water,
A swallow from above the water,
A black-back from out of the mud;
Stole the beads from the willow,
The pearls from the hay-stack,
The chains from the tall stone,
The ribbons from the broad sand,
The rings from the gravel.

The maidens called for help,
Begging with shrill tongues:
'Come help, Harju lad!
Come rescue, Pärnu lad!'
But the Harju lad did not hear,
Nor did the Pärnu lad hear.

To the rescue stepped a cliff-lad,
A player of the Swedish harp:
'Why do you weep, maidens?
Why do you lament, darlings?'

'We went to launch a boat,
To play upon the sea,
To sing among the waves;
We set our beads upon the willow,
Our pearls upon the hay-stack,
Our chains upon the tall stone,
Our ribbons upon the broad sand,
Our rings upon the gravel.
A pike came from beneath the water,
A swallow from above the water,
A black-back from out of the mud;
Stole our beads from the willows,
Our ribbons from the broad sand,
Our rings from the gravel.'

Then spoke the cliff-lad,
The player of the Swedish harp:
'Do not weep, young maidens,
Do not grieve, darlings!
We shall capture the thieves,
Put the robbers in irons.'

He began to play the harp,
To pluck the harp-strings,
To let the song fly —
The sea was startled into listening,
The clouds gazed from afar;
The pike came from beneath the water,
The swallow came from above the water,
The black-back rose from the mud;
They brought the treasures back,
Gave them to the maidens again.

The cliff-lad offered his hand,
Asking the young maiden:
'Come, dove, be mine!
With us every day is Sunday,
Feasts the whole year long.'

'I cannot come, cliff-lad,
I cannot come, brother!
At home we have suitors enough.
Let the summer pass — come autumn
The village dogs will bark,
The iron-pawed ones will walk,
Dragging wine-sacks behind them.
Thanks for your help,
Gratitude for your kindness!
More than that I cannot give you.'"

Part Fifteen — The Book of Freedom

(Lines 867–975)

When thus Kalevipoeg
At the feast of fortune, cheering,
Let his merry song ring out —
There stepped into the room the Lapp sage;
Stroking his knees, he spoke
Fondly to Kalevipoeg:

"Uku grant you good fortune,
Heaven grant you wisdom,
To you and to your friends!
Where great beauty fills your hall
And pleasures move in plenty,
Give me leave, in parting,
To go joyfully wandering,
To walk the homeward road!
While tidying the dusty chambers,
Rummaging through the corners,
I spent a long time,
Until by unexpected luck
The day before yesterday I found in the tower,
Beneath a stone cell's vault,
A gift put in chains,
A treasure bound in fetters.
Grant me leave to take my own,
To hasten on the road tomorrow!"

Kalevipoeg answered:
"I know of no tethered bull
Behind a lock,
No chained puppy,
No captive treasure,
Nor slave in shackles.
Tell me — what have you found
In the tower beneath the stone vault
That is so precious?"

Varrak understood, answered back:
"I found written pages,
An iron-covered book
In firm chains' fetters.
Grant me leave to take this thing of wisdom,
To carry the old book with me!"

Strong Kalevipoeg,
Who remembered nothing
Of the chained book,
Nor could recognize
Where old wise Kalev
From his long life's inheritance
Had ordered set down
So much useful wisdom —
Where laws were confirmed,
Justice plainly taught,
Proclaimed to kings,
Made known to subjects.

More precious still than gold and silver
There stood in the chained book
The ancient time of freedom,
Our men-sons' liberty,
The fairest treasure of the lowly.

This precious thing Varrak wished
To carry to his own land for its blessing.

In the feast-day's hangover
Kalevipoeg spoke:
"Take the books, old Varrak,
For winter nights' pastime,
For reading by lamplight!
You may find some oddments,
Scraps of idle stories
Among the pages."

Sulevipoeg scolded,
Olevipoeg pleaded:
"Let us look it through
Before you give away your own!
Who sells pig-in-a-poke,
Blindly making bargains?
Nor would the wise old father
Have chained the book,
Had it locked away,
If no profit grew from it,
No good would come of it."

Kalev's dear son,
Heedless of his friend's warning,
Sang only merrily:
"Though precious things might stand in the book,
Unknown riches —
A promise a man must honour.
An ox by its horn, a man by his word! —
So teaches the ancient saying."

He ordered the chained books
Given out to Varrak.
In three chains' fetters,
Secured by three locks,
Stood the secret writings.
No one could find the keys
To open the rusted rings
From the lock-clasps.
Varrak knew well where the keys were,
But the sage would not say.

Kalevipoeg commanded:
"Break down the wall-stones,
Tear from there the rock
Together with all the chains
That bind the walls."

They prised the heavy stone
With the book from the wall in one piece,
Rolled it onto a cart;
They yoked a pair of oxen
To haul the treasure-load.
Then sent it to the harbour,
Loaded it on a ship
Where already the gold-bags
Old Varrak had ordered carried.

Part Sixteen — The Father's Grave

(Lines 976–1040)

The messengers came hurrying,
Riding already over the bridge,
Flying through the city gates;
The bridge-timbers cracked,
The city gate trembled.

Kalevipoeg asked:
"Who is it riding on the bridge,
Making the bridge-timbers crack,
Making the gateway tremble?"

The messengers were summoned
To Kalevipoeg's chamber,
Where they announced at once:

"Already war is coming,
The battle-wagon rolling,
Banner-poles gliding,
Spear-points enslaving,
Sword-edges hammering.
From the shore have come iron men,
A raft-full of hell's sons
To shatter our peaceful days,
To crush our country.
The old ones tremble,
Women weep in corners,
Maidens stand in tears,
Young mothers mourning."

Kalevipoeg asked:
"What then do the young men do?
Are no strong ones growing,
No sturdier ones rising
To shield the old,
To bring peace to the aged?"

The messengers announced:
"Drooping stand our young men,
Sorrow drains the lads —
The sword knows not how to break iron,
The axe cannot shatter steel."

Kalevipoeg spoke:
"Take some food, brothers,
Wet your throats, dear ones,
To refresh your weary bodies!"

Then the men were led to sleep,
Set upon pillows to rest,
In silk-beds to slumber,
In mist-beds to drowse.

Kalev's dear son
Could get no sleep upon his eyes,
No covering beneath his brow.
He went out to the meadow
To air his troubled mind,
To quench his sorrowful mood.

He walked to his father's grave-mound,
Sat upon the grave's edge.

But from the grave — no revelation.
From the burial-hill — no word.

Whining, the waves rolled;
Sighing, the wind gusted;
Sad showed the dew-coat;
Tear-clouded, the cloud-eye.
Ghost-shadows wavering
Rose to tread the wind. —

Kalev's strong son
Walked home in sorrow.

Colophon

Translated from the Estonian of Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's Kalevipoeg (1857) as preserved in Project Gutenberg (#25062). The nineteenth of twenty cantos. Approximately 1,040 verse lines translated from 19th-century literary Estonian.

No existing English translation was consulted as a source. The English is independently derived from Kreutzwald's Estonian text, preserving the parallelism, kenning-compounds, and alliterative rhythm of the original regivärss tradition.

Notable elements: The canto falls in two halves — the underworld and the feast — and the feast is the more devastating. Parts One through Ten cover the wrestling with Sarvik, the shadow-mother's spinning-trick, the binding, the gold-sacks, and the climb home. Parts Eleven through Sixteen contain one of the richest passages in Estonian literature: a feast at Lindanisa where four songs are sung — the Singer's Song of the Siuru-bird (the Pleiades, Taara's daughter, flying over three worlds to seek suitors for lonely maidens), Alevipoeg's creation-song (staves become islands, boards become oaks, and a sword is found in the waves), Sulevipoeg's hops-song (a comic courtship ending in winter's cold), and Kalevipoeg's own drinking-song (the most elaborate, containing a nested folk narrative of village maidens, stolen treasures, and a cliff-lad with a Swedish harp who plays the sea into returning what it stole). Between the songs, the same feast-refrain recurs four times — "Mirth-chiming rose from the table, jest-clamour from the chamber" — creating a ritualistic structure that mirrors the drinking itself. The dramatic irony is devastating: while the heroes drink and sing, the narrator tells us that war-messengers are already riding toward Lindanisa. The Lapp sage Varrak arrives and obtains the iron-bound book of Kalev's laws — containing "the ancient time of freedom, our men-sons' liberty, the fairest treasure of the lowly" — and Kalevipoeg gives it away with the proverb "An ox by its horn, a man by his word!" Sulevipoeg and Olevipoeg beg him not to, but he is drunk and generous. The book is Estonia's freedom, and the giving-away is the epic's turning point. The final scene: war has come, the young men are useless, and Kalevipoeg walks to his father's grave seeking guidance. No answer comes. Ghost-shadows tread the wind. Kalev's strong son walks home in sorrow. The silence at the grave is the canto's true ending — the father who built everything cannot speak from the other side.

Parts One through Ten translated by the Uralic tulku lineage (2026). Parts Eleven through Sixteen translated by Kansei (完成, WIP Finisher, Pass 75), March 2026. Scribed for the New Tianmu Anglican Church.

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Source Text: Kalevipoeg — Üheksateistkümnes Lugu

Estonian text of Kalevipoeg Canto XIX, from the 1857 first edition of Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, as preserved in Project Gutenberg (#25062). Approximately 1,040 verse lines in literary Estonian regivärss. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

Vanapõlve piiridelle
Varisenud võitlemiste
Järeljäänud jälgesida
Paksemalt kui meie päevil;
Siiski Kalevite käigilt
Paistab kui päike heledam
Kõigist kuulsam rammukatse,
Võimsam võitlemise mängi
P õ r g u peremehe talust.
10 Mets ja mägi märkasivad,
Kaljukünkad kuulasivad,
Sood ja rabad saivad sõna,
Vetelained läkitusi:
Sest et maapind müdinaga,
Meri vahtus valendades
Tugevat tööd tunnistasid.
Vainiulle valmistati
Õue alla paras paika
Rammukatsumise kohaks.
20 Vanal viisil võetie
Kämmaldega niudeist kinni,
Võeti püksivärvelista
Kümne küüne kangusega
Kehavõimu katsumiseks.
Veri valgus küünte alla,
Sinipaisul sõrmedesse.
Ehk küll võimuvõttev vesi,
Närtsitava kruusi märga
Kurjal rammu kurnanekse,
30 Võimust väga väsiteleb,
Kalevite kangel pojal
Kahekordne kanguskaste
Kehavõimu karastanud,
Siiski vältas võitlemine,
Meeste võidumängimine
Seitse päeva seisemata,
Seitse ööda lõppemata,
Enne kui nad selget otsust
Võitlemise võidul saivad.
40 S a r v i k-taat küll salamahti
Katsus kiusamise kombel
Põiki jalgel pillutada
Kallist Kalevite poega,
Kes kui tugev tammetüvik,
Raskem raudakivi rahnu
Kohalta ei komistanud.
Kordamisi kergitasid
Teineteista tõusemaie,
Rabasivad raksatelles
50 Müta-mäta! maha jälle,
Mis kui Kõue kärgatused
Põldusida põrutasid,
Kaljusida kõigutasid,
Vetta tõstsid vahutama.
Kalevite kaval poega
Oskas hoida end osavalt,
Suutis siuna pealta sõrmi,
Angerjana alta sõrmi
Põrgulase pihust päästa,
60 Kookus jalal kohe kanda
Toeks vastu valmistada;
Siiski kippus kange võimus,
Rammu viimaks raugenema.
Eide vari valvsail silmil
Nägi poja nõrkemista,
Võttis kätte vokikoonla,
Keeriteli kümme korda
Üle pea ümberpööri,
Paiskas prantsti! põrmandalle
70 Eeskujuks Kaleville.
Kalevite kange poega
Mõistis eide mõtteida
Targalikult tähendada,
Sasis kinni säärtepaelust,
Sarviku põlvevärvelist,
Tõstis teda tuulekiirul
Koonla kombel kõrge′elle,
Keeriteli kümme korda
Taadikest kui takutopsu,
80 Viskas võimurohke väega
Matsti! maha muru peale;
Pani põlved rinna peale,
Kamaluga kõrist kinni,
Kippus taati kägistama.
Võttis vöö niude ümbert,
Miska kurja köitemaie.
Siisap vedas vaenumehe
Kütkes raudakamberie,
Köitis teda kammitsrauda,
90 Pani ahelate paelu
Käed ja jalad kütkendusse,
Köitis kolmandama kütke
Rõngastpidi kaela külge,
Neljandama niuetesse;
Kinniteli kütke otsad
Kaljuseina seisemaie;
Veereteli vainult kivi
Saunasuuruse uksele,
Kuhu külge kaelakütked
100 Sidemella sõlmitie,
Raudakrambil kinnitati,
Et ei Sarvik toasta sammu,
Kanda saanud kamberista.
Kalevite kange poega
Pühkis higi palgeilta,
Pilkamisi pajatelles:
"Ära lase, leinalindu,
Kammitsjalgel kukekene,
Aega minna igavaksi
110 Vangipõlves valvatessa!
Kaeba kurbust kaljudelle,
Meelehaigust metsadelle,
Raskust kivirahnudelle,
Viletsusi virnadelle!
Saada soovid rabasoosse,
Ohkamised ohakaisse,
Kaebamised kadastikku!
Võlg meil tasa, vennikene,
Kõverused kohendatud;
120 Õnn on teinud õigusotsa,
Annud võitu võimsamalle."
Sarvik-taati sõnaldama:
"Kui oleks teadnud, võinud teada,
Ettearvus ära mõista,
Tagaarvus tähendella,
Unenäossa iial näha,
Mis nüüd mulle põlveks pandi,
Viletsuseks visatie,
Ei ma oleks kodukambrist
130 Ahju tagant mitte astund,
Sammudella sinu jälgi
Lagedalle luusimaie,
Väljadella vaatamaie.
Kalevite kallis poega,
Võidul vägev vennikene!
Ära hõiska enne õhtut,
Kiida varem päeva käiki,
Kuni päike puhkamaie
Videvikul läinud veeru!
140 Õnnemunal õrna koori,
Visam süda viletsusel;
Õhtu eel võib õnnetusi
Kuus veel tulla kimbatusi.
Heida armu, armas venda,
Kustuta süüd kullalla,
Varja hõbeda varjulla!" -
Kui ei kange võtnud kuulda,
Sarvik-taati sajatama,
Kurjel sõnul kukutama.
150 Kalevite kallis poega
Laskis sammud lustilisti
Taadi taaleritubaje,
Kullavaranduse-kambri,
Kus see kulda kirstudessa,
Hõbe salves hunnikussa
Salapeidul seisemassa.
Hakkas kulda kühveldama,
Hõbedada hävitelles
Kottidesse kogumaie.
160 Täitis koti, täitis kaksi,
Täitis koti kolmandama,
Naljapärast neljandama.
Kui ta viiet võttemassa,
Hüüdis hiiri augusuulta:
"Ära võta, vennikene,
Hullul meelel üleliia!
Tee on pikka tallajalle,
Koorem raske kandijalle."
Kalevite poega mõistis,
170 Viskas viiendama koti
Tühjalt tündri serva peale,
Köitis teised kaksikuti,
Sidus suud suude vastu,
Et neid hõlpsalt õlgadella
Kukkelasse tõstes kanda.
Kullakotid polnud suured
Ega väga väiksedki,
Võis ehk kolme tündri võrra,
Kuue riia vaka võrra
180 Koormat igas kotis olla.
Kalevite kange poega
Pani ühe kotipaari
Paremalle õla peale,
Teise paari pahemalle
Pihtasida pigistama;
Siisap koju kõndimaie,
Sammusida sirutama.
Raudasilda raksateli,
Aluspalgid paukusivad,
190 Nurgakivid nõtkusivad
Kalevite kulda kandes.
Põrgupere vanaeite
Ahju tagant haugutama,
Leepajalt lõugutama,
Suurel suul sajatama:
"Saagu, saagu, ma sajatan!
Saagu sa teele surema,
Lagedalle lämbumaie,
Lepikusse lõppemaie,
200 Kaasikusse katkemaie,
Ahju taha hangumaie,
Tee äärde tarretama,
Põõsa taha pendimaie,
Metsamurdu mädanema,
Aasadelle hapnemaie,
Rägastikku raipenema,
Samblasoosse sammeldama!
Saagu su keha söödaksi,
Hüvaks roaks huntidelle,
210 Nokakatkeks kaarnatelle,
Metsapoegil′ puretuseks!"
Kalevite kange poega
Sajatustest sattumata
Rändas aga rasket teeda
Sammudella sõude′ essa,
Ehk küll kullakoorem kukalt,
Raha õlga raskendeli.
Kui ta juba tüki käinud,
Ajand allailma teeda
220 Valgusilma veere poole,
Siisap puhuks puhkamaie,
Tülpind keha karastama.
Kas ta tunni tukkunekse
Ehk kas päeva puhkanekse,
Sest ei saanud meesi märku
Ega tunnistusetähte.
Viletsuse viivitusi
Ega kiuste kammitsusi
Polnud Kalevite pojal
230 Põrguteedel takistajaks.
Vaheajal hakkas valgus
Pealtailmast paistemaie,
Hakkas ööda lõpetama,
Pimedusta pillutama.
Kalevite kange poega
Ähkis kullakoorma alla,
Palav puneteli palgeid,
Ajas hiukseid higistama,
Ihu üldsalt auramaie.
240 Kuivand keele kipitusel
Lõõtsus meesi tulist lõhna.
Alevite armas poega,
Kes ei raatsind koju minna,
Istus auguserval üksi,
Kuristiku koopasuussa,
Seal, kust Kalev julgel sammul
Allailma oli läinud.
A l e v ootas armuhoolel,
Ootas hommikul ja õhtul,
250 Valvsail silmil ööde vilul;
Aeg läks aasta igavuseks
Mehel meelemõtte′essa,
Sest kas sõber ehk ju surma
Viletsuses võinud leida.
Ühel õhtul, päeva veerul,
Kostis nii kui kauge′elta
Kange mehe käigimüdin
Alevi kõrvakuulmesse;
Maapõhjast tõusis parin,
260 Sügavusest sammumine.
Alev asju arvamaie,
Mööda kuuldud kobinada
Sügavusse silmamaie,
Kas ehk Kalevite käiki,
Tõusemista kuskilt tunda.
Videvik ju viinud ööda
Kaste kaissu karastama,
Seal vast Kalev astub sammu
Selle ilma serva peale,
270 Viskab maha kullakotid,
Hõbedakotid õlalta,
Langeb ise lagedalle
Seljasooni sirutama,
Väsind keha venitama.
Alevite armas poega
Virgult vetta vedamaie
Karastavaks keelekasteks
Kalli vara kandijalle.
Kalevipoeg küsimaie:
280 "Avaldele, armas venda,
Kas ma kaua olen käinud,
Varjuriigis aega viitnud?"
Alevite armas poega
Asjalugu avaldama,
Kuidas nädalat ehk kolme
Käiki aega kulutanud.
Kalevipoeg pajatama:
"Sest ei teadnud, võinud teada
Elav inimesehingi,
290 Mõtteleda meelekene,
Agaram ei arvaneda.
Seal ei seisa arusambaid,
Tunnistähti taeva′assa,
Miska päeva mõõdetakse,
Ööde pikkust arvatakse.
Põrgu päev ei näita päikest,
Öö ei kuuda kumendamas
Ega tähte taeva küljes.
Lepikus ei leita lindu,
300 Kägu kuskil kuulutamas,
Murulta ei udukuube
Ega kaunist kastemärga,
Miska öö ja päeva piirded
Vaatajalle vahet teeksid."
Siisap sahkas pikemalta,
Kuidas käsi põrgus käinud,
Viiekordsed viivitused,
Kuuekordsed kammitsused
Käiki temal kinnitanud,
300 Viimaks võitlemise võidul
S a r v i k saanud sidemesse,
Kindla ahelate kütke.
Alev oli tapnud härja,
Suretanud metsasõnni,
Mis ei olnud ikkes käinud,
Seitsmel suvel sahka näinud,
Kümnel aastal künnud maada.
Enne härga iga aasta
Pidudeksi püüetie,
310 Õue alla aetie,
Taheti minna tappemaie,
Suurta härga surmamaie,
Võimsa hinge võttemaie.
Tuhat meest oli turjassagi,
Sada meest oli sarvessagi,
Kümme härja kelladessa,
Seitsekümmend härja sabas.
Ei olnud meesta meie maalta,
Tugevamat teisest kohast,
320 Kes oleks pähe koputanud,
Härga oleks uimastanud,
Suure sõnni suretanud.
Alevite armas poega,
See′p see tappis suure härja.
Kargas härja kaela peale,
Sasis kinni sarvedesta, -
Siis aga kirves kopsimaie,
Tapper pähe tagumaie,
Nuga kurku kutistama;
330 Sada vaati valgus verda,
Tuhat tündrit tõusis liha. -
Kanged mehed kahekesi
Õhtuosa võttemaie,
Kehasida karastama;
Kalevite kange poega
Vaotas vatsa rebevalle,
Kõhu kuhjal kerkimaie,
Heitis maha muru peale
Leiba luusse laskemaie.
340 Alevite poega noori
Istus kullakottidelle,
Hõbedaste hõlma peale
Varandusta valvamaie,
Et ei röövel riisumaie,
Varas tuleks võttemaie,
Pikil sõrmil puutumaie.
Kalevite kange poega
Puhkas põrgu pahandusta,
Võitlemise väsimusta,
350 Rahakoorma rammestusta, -
Puhkas öö ja puhkas päeva,
Uinu süles teise päeva,
Kolmanda keskhommikuni.
Penikoorma kostis norin,
Kostis hingamise kõrin,
Mis kui hobukabja müdin,
Sõjasõitu üle silla
Murupinda muljuteli,
Puid ja põõsaid põruteli.
360 Kolmandama päeva keskel
Tõttasivad mehed teele;
Alevite armas poega
Võttis ühe koti kukla,
Kolm jäi koormaks Kaleville.
Kalevite kallis poega,
Kes see pärast põrguskäiki
Mõnda hüva meie maale
Kasulikuks kasvatanud,
Elas ise L i n d a n i s a s
370 Seltsis oma sõpradega.
Olev oli, linnatarka,
Kolm veel linna ehitanud:
Ühe linna lõuna alla,
Teise linna tõusu vastu,
Kolmandama koidu alla,
Kust sai varju vanadelle,
Rahupaika raukadelle.
Kalevite kallis poega
Kulutanud koti kulda
380 Kolme linna asutuseks,
Kolm veel varjul kamberissa
Teiste tööde toimetuseks.
Sõbrad seltsis sahkamaie,
Kalevipoega palumaie:
"Võta kruusid, vennikene,
Pane kihlad kottidesse,
Meelitused märssidesse,
Mine K u n g l a kosimaie,
Noorikuda nõudemaie!
390 Kunglas kasvab kodukanu,
Neitsikesi neljakesi;
Läki lindu püüdemaie,
Koppelista korjamaie,
Lepikusta lingutama!
Kungla neitsid koovad kangast,
Teevad kullast toimelista,
Koovad hõbelõngalista,
Silitavad siidilista,
Punuvad punapoogelist."
400 Kalevite poega mõistis,
Pilgelisti pajatama:
"Läki linna tegemaie,
Vallisida valamaie,
Kosjakambrit ehitama,
Siidisängi seadimaie!
Teeme linna lillekestest,
Teeme tornid toomingasta,
Vallid ümber vahterasta,
Teeme toad tammetõrust,
410 Kanamunasta kamberid,
Et, kui käivad kauge′elta,
Võõrad jääksid vahtimaie,
Mõistelikud mõtlemaie,
Targad lugu tunnistama:
Kellel′ Kalev teinud linna,
Kellele vallid valanud?
Kalev teinud lustilinna,
Kasvatanud kosjakambri,
Valand kullast voodikese,
420 Sidund siidist sängikese.
Peaksite sisse pugema,
Nalja seestpoolta nägema:
Seest on siidilla seotud,
Ääred aetud hõbedasta,
Servad tehtud sametista,
Kolme kulla keerdudesta,
Pealt on löödud pähkelista,
Alt on õunalla istutud,
Vahelt välgub visnapuida,
430 Keskelt kena kivisida.
Võtke hoielda hobuda,
Ravitseda ratsukesta,
Sööta sadulakandijat,
Kõrbi ruuna kosutada!
Viige enne muid murule,
Enne koitu koppelisse,
Enne aega allikalle,
Enne päeva põllu äärde;
Söötke ratsut salamahti,
440 Andke vakka valge eella,
Külimittu koidikulla,
Kaksi keskihommikulla,
Laia vakka lõune′ella!
Söötke kuu, söötke kaksi,
Söötke tükki kolmat kuuda,
Nädala ehk neljat kuuda, -
Siis aga ratsu rakke′esse,
Halli aisade vahele!
Küll siis sõidan kosjateele,
450 Rühin neitsiradadelle,
Kudruskaelte kamberie,
Tanupeade tubadesse.
Kaste heidab kasukalle,
Udu uue kuue peale,
Vihmapisar vammukselle,
Rahetera rätikulle:
Küll siis Kalev läheb kosja
Noorta naista võttemaie."
Kalevite kallis poega
460 Istus seltsis sõpradega,
Lustihelin tõusis laualt,
Naljakära kamberista.
Keeritelles käisid kannud,
Mõdukannud meeste käessa,
Õnnel mehed hõiskasivad.
Pillutasid põrmandalle
Valgutades valget vahtu
Anniks hoonehoidijaile,
Võimsa majavarjajaile.
470 Värsket leenta viidanekse
Uku kivile kingiksi.
Laulik istus laua taga,
Kandlelööja teiste keskel,
Laskis laulu lendamaie:
"Viis oli vana vainiulla,
Kuus oli kuldseid kuusikussa,
Seitse samblas saladusi,
Kaheksa kanarbikussa -
Sealtap sõlmisin sõnuda,
480 Korjasin ma kuulutusi,
Hõbedasi ilmutusi:
S i u r u -lindu, Taara tütar,
Siuru-lindu, sinisiiba,
Siidinarmas sulgedega,
Sündis isa sundimata,
Kasvas ema haudumata,
Sõsarate soovimata,
Veljekeste vastumeelta.
Ei olnud linnul pesakesta,
490 Pääsupojal haudepaika
Udusulgi uuendada,
Verisulgi valmistada.
Aga U k u asuteli,
Vanaisa valmisteli
Tütterelle tuuletiivad,
Tuuletiivad, pilveviivad,
Miska lapsi liugunekse,
Kauge′elle kandanekse.
Siuru-lindu, Taara tütar,
500 Siuru-lindu, sinisiiba,
Lendas palju, liugles palju,
Lendas, liugles lõuna alla,
Pööras põiki põhja poole,
Lendas üle kolme ilma.
Üks oli ilma neitsikeste,
Teine kasvul käharpeade,
Kolmas koogalaste kodu,
Koogalaste korjuspaika.
Siuru-lindu, sirgesiiba,
510 Siidisiibuda sirutas,
Lendas, liugles päeva alla,
Päeva linna lähedalle,
Kuu kumeda kojani,
Väikse vaskse väravani.
Siuru-lindu, sirgesiiba,
Siidisiibuda sirutas,
Lendas palju, liugles palju,
Käänas õhtulla koduje.
Isa tütterelt küsima:
520 "Kus sa liuglend lenneldessa,
Kus sa käisid kauge′ ella,
Mis sa nägid, nugissilma?"
Siuru mõistis, kostis vastu,
Kostis vastu kohkumata:
"Kus ma liueldes libisin,
Sinna jätsin litterida;
Kus ma käiessa keerutin,
Sinna sadas siidisulgi;
Kus ma siibu saputasin,
530 Sabast sulgi satutasin.
Mis mul nägi nugissilma,
Sest on seitse jutustada,
Kaheksa mul kõneleda.
Kaua käisin Kõukse teeda,
Vikerkaare vihmateeda,
Mööda rasket raheteeda;
Kaua käisin kahtepäini,
Libisesin lihtepäini,
Kuni leidsin kolme ilma:
540 Üks oli ilma neitsikeste,
Teine kasvul käharpeade,
Kolmas koogalaste kodu,
Koogalaste korjuspaika,
Kus need kenad kasvasivad,
Siidilised sirgusivad."
"Mis sa kuulid, kuulutele,
Mis sa nägid, näita′ ele!"
"Mis ma kuulin, kulla taati,
Mis ma nägin, isakene?
550 Kuulin neide naljatusi,
Naljatusi, kurvastusi,
Käharpeade pilgatusi,
Koogalaste kiljatusi:
Miks need neiud naljatlikud,
Käharpeaga kasvandikud
Aina üksinda elavad,
Haudujata igatsevad,
Küsiteldi kõigis kohtes.
Kas ei taadil tähepoega,
560 Tähepoega ehk ka teista,
Kes läeks neidu päästemaie,
Käharpäida kuulamaie?"
T a a r a mõistis, kohe kostis:
"Lenda, tütar, liugle, tütar!
Lenda, tütar, lõuna′ alle,
Liugle libas lääne poole,
Läänest põigiti põhjaje,
Libise Uku ukse ette,
Lääne eide läve alla,
570 Põhja eide peenderaile:
Küsitele kosilasi,
Palu piiga päästijaida!""
Kalevite kuulus poega
Istus seltsis sõpradega.
Lustihelin tõusis laualt,
Naljakära kamberista,
Keeritelles käisid kannud,
Mõdukannud meeste käessa,
Õnnel mehed hõiskasivad.
580 A l e v i p o e g, poisikene,
Laskis laulu lendamaie:
"Kastkem kurku, kullakesed!
Vahtu majavarjajaile!
Jooge mõdu, noored mehed,
Kõristage kannukesi,
Et ei piiska põhja jääksi,
Kastemärga kannudesse!
Viskan vitsad välja peale,
Lauad laial′ lepikusse,
590 Käepidemed pihlakasse.
Kuhu vitsad need visati,
Sinna sündisid suured saared;
Kuhu lauad lahutasin,
Sinna tõusid targad tammed;
Kuhu pidemed puistasin,
Sinna pilved paigutasin;
Kuhu märga kukkus maha,
Sinna meri mängimaie,
Lained laialt läikimaie.
600 Mis seal meres kasvanekse?
Meres kasvas kaksi puuda:
Üks oli õnnel õunapuuke,
Teine tarka tammekene.
Oksad täisi oravaida,
Lehed laululindusida,
Keskel kotkad pesitamas.
Jõgi jooksis alta juure,
Kalad käisid alta kalda,
Siiad suured, seljad mustad,
610 Lõhed laiad, laugud otsas.
Naised seisvad naljatelles,
Seisvad sääreni meressa,
Linapead lainetessa,
Käharpead kalakudussa.
Mis need piigad püüdelevad,
Mis need kallid saivad kalu?
Kala püüdis püüdijaida,
Lõhekala lapsukesi,
Vesi aga võttis venna,
620 Lained lapse lämmatasid.
Mina venda otsimaie,
Eite nuttis noorukesta;
Läksin lausa lainetesse,
Kaelani kalakudusse,
Sügavasse haudadesse.
Mis ma leidsin lainetesta?
Leidsin mõõga ma meresta,
Läikja raua lainetesta.
Mina mõõka võttemaie,
630 Õde kaldalt hüüdemaie:
"Tule koju, vennakene,
Tule kiiresti koduje!
Isa surmasängi pealla,
Ema hinge heitemassa,
Venda juba vaakumassa,
Õde tõsteti õlgile,
Pandi piiga põrmandalle."
Mina nuttessa minema,
Kiirelt koju kõndimaie.
640 "Oh sa virtsik, valelikku,
Kahelisti keelekandja!
Isa istub keset tuba,
Õllekannu taadil käessa;
Ema niidab siidilammast,
Kuldakäärid tal käessa;
Õde sõtkub sepikuda,
Hõbesõrmuksed sõrmessa;
Vend aga kesa kündemassa,
Küüdud härjad ikke′essa.
650 Küütu künnab, selga nõtkub,
Valli veab, pea väriseb.
Küütu künnab killingida,
Valli veab vana rahada,
Tõstab aga taalerida.
Külimit saab killingida,
Vakk mulle vana rahada,
Tündritäis taalerida.""
Kalevite kuulus poega
Istus seltsis sõpradega,
660 Lustihelin tõusis laualt,
Naljakärin kamberista,
Keeritelles käisid kannud,
Mõdukannud meeste käessa,
Õnnel mehed hõiskasivad.
S u l e v i p o e g, poisikene,
Laskis laulu lendamaie:
"Humal uhke põõsa otsas,
Käbi kena kända′assa,
Kui ta kasvab kõrgutie,
670 Veab vääti venitades
Ümber tapu teiba′alle.
Olgem noped, noored mehed,
Teda võtma teiba′asta,
Kobaraida korjamaie!
Pangem parsil′ kuivamaie,
Reheseina seisemaie,
Sealt ta kerkib kattelasse,
Tükib kohe tünderisse,
Poeb õllepoolikusse;
680 Pöörab meele meeste peasta,
Poole meele naiste peasta,
Tüssab ise tütarlapsi.
Kui mu armas kõndimassa,
Veli kosja sõitemassa,
Läks ta üle lagediku,
Käis ta läbi kanarbiku;
Tuli vastu neli neidu,
Neli kena käharpeada.
Kosilane küsimaie:
690 "Miks te, noored, nurme pealla
Kodunt kaugel kõndimassa?"
Neiud mõistsid, kostsid vastu,
Piigad nõnda pajatasid:
"Lähme linna, linnukesed,
Alevisse, armukesed,
Turu peale, tuvikesed,
Uulitsalle, hullukesed!
Pidul korrapoisikesed
Piigasida pilkamaie,
700 Külas käivad kurjad keeled,
Vallas palju valelikke,
Needap lapsi laimamaie,
Tuvikesi teotamaie."
Mina piigasid püüdema,
Lapsukesi lingutama:
"Näita nägu, neitsikene,
Punapalge palistusi!"
Piigad kiirest′ punumaie,
Lendsid üle lagediku
710 Kiirel sammul küla poole.
Mina sammul sagamaie,
Jõudsail kannul jooksemaie,
Väravasta vaatamaie,
Läbi seina luurimaie:
Masajalad magasivad - -
Kui ma seda nalja näinud,
Kohe süda kohmetama,
Talvekülmal tarretama.
"Humal uhke põõsa otsas,
720 Käbi kena kända′assa,
Ära poe piigade pähe!
Neitsile ei tee sa nalja,
Pikast ilust tõuseb pilli."
Kalevite kuulus poega
Istus seltsis sõpradega,
Lustihelin tõusis laualt,
Naljakärin kamberista,
Keeritelles käisid kannud,
Mõdukannud meeste käessa,
730 Õnnel mehed hõiskasivad
Ega võinud ette teada,
Mõttessa ei ära mõista,
Agaral peal arvatagi,
Mis neil nalja jälgedelle
Õnnetust võiks hommikulla
Koidu eella kasvaneda.
Juba käimas kiired käsud,
Sõjasõnum sõitemassa,
Juba ratsud rakendatud,
740 Kõrvid karunahkadessa
L i n d a n i sa poole lendvad
Kuningalle kuulutama
Sõja raskeid sõnumida.
P i h k v a piirilt tõttas poissi,
Teine L ä t i lagedalta,
Teiselt poolt Taara tammikut
Kurvastusta kuulutama,
Sõjalugu sõnaldama.
Lätti tulnud laevadega
750 Rahekombel raudamehi,
Peipsi tagant teine parvi
Vene laia väljadelta,
Pohlakate piiri poolta,
Kes see vara kiskumaie,
Rahupõlve pillutama,
Lõbupidu lõpetama.
Kihutage, käskujalad,
Kurvad sõnumid kukkarus,
Vanema käsud vammukses!
760 Kalevite kuulus poega
Istus seltsis sõpradega
Käratelles kamberissa,
Laskis aga lõksatelles
Lustilaulu lendamaie:
"Joogem, joogem, vennikesed!
Maitsegem mõdu magusat,
Hullakeme humalassa,
Hõisakem õllekannuga,
Pidu pikka peekeriga!
770 Kõristagem kannukesi,
Vahtu maha visatessa
Pillutagem põrmandalle,
Siis saab õnne õitsemaie,
Armsam aega algamaie!
Viskan vitsad visnapuusse,
Kannukaaned kaasikusse,
Lauad laotan lepikusse,
Põhjad põllule põrutan.
Homme ise otsimaie,
780 Valge eella vaatamaie:
Mis need vitsad visnapuussa,
Kannukaaned kaasikussa,
Lauad laial′ lepikussa,
Põhjalauad põllu peale
Enne koitu kasvatanud,
Ööde vilul õilmeldanud?
Vitsust kasvas lapsevibu,
Kannukaanest külakiike,
790 Laudadest said laululauad,
Põhjast pajatuse-pingid.
Külaneiud, kullakesed,
Kudruskaelad kiikumaie,
Lustilugu laulemaie;
Laulid lained lainetama,
Laevad laineil kiikumaie.
Läksid laeva laskemaie,
Lainetesse laulemaie,
Panid paatrid paju peale,
800 Helmed heinakaare peale,
Keed pika kivi peale,
Lindid laia liiva peale,
Sõrmuksed sõmera peale.
Tuli haugi alta vetta,
Pääsulindu pealta vetta,
Mustaselga muda seesta;
Pärisid paatrid pajulta,
Helmed heinakaare pealta,
Keed pikalta kivilta,
810 Lindid laia liivikulta,
Sõrmuksed sõmera pealta.
Neiud appi hüüdemaie,
Pikil keelil palumaie:
"Tule appi, H ar j u poissi!
Tule päästma, P ä r n u poissi!"
Aga ei kuulnud Harju poissi
Ega kuulnud Pärnu poissi.
Appi astus kaljupoissi,
Rootsi kandle kõlistaja:
820 "Miks te, neitsid, nuttelete,
Kullakesed, kaebelete?"
"Läksime laeva laskema,
Mere peale mängimaie,
Lainetesse laulemaie;
Panime paatrid pajule,
Helmed heinakaare peale,
Keed pika kivi peale,
Lindid laia liivikulle,
Sõrmuksed sõmera peale.
830 Tuli haugi alta vetta,
Pääsulindu pealta vetta,
Selga musta muda seesta;
Päris paatrid pajudelta,
Lindid laia liivikulta,
Sõrmuksed sõmera pealta."
Seal aga kostis kaljupoissi,
Rootsi kandle kõlksutaja:
"Ärge nutke, neiukesed,
Kurvastage, kullakesed!
840 Küllap vargad vangistame,
Röövlid rauda rakendame."
Hakkas kannelt kõlistama,
Kandlekeeli käristama,
Laululugu laskemaie. -
Meri kohkus kuulamaie,
Pilved pikalt vaatamaie,
Haugi tuli alta vetta,
Pääsu tuli pealta vetta,
Mustselg tõusis mudasta;
850 Tõivad ehte′ed tagasi,
Andsid jälle piigadelle.
Kaljupoiss kätta pakkuma,
Piigat noorta palumaie:
"Tule, tui, mulle omaksi!
Meil on igapäev pühapäev,
Pidud piki aasta′ada."
"Ei või tulla, kaljupoissi,
Ei või tulla, vennikene!
Meil on kodu kosijaida.
860 Las′ läeb suvi, küll sügise
Külakoerad haukumaie,
Raudakäpad kõndimaie,
Viinamärssisid vedama.
Aituma abi eesta,
Tänu heateo eesta!
Saa ei sulle suuremada.""
Kui nii Kalevite poega
Õnnepidul hõisatessa
Lustilisti laskis tralli,
870 Astus tuppa Lapu tarka;
Pajatelles põlvesida
Kalevipojal paitama:
"Uku andku hüva õnne,
Taevas tarkada aruda
Sulle ja su sõpradelle!
Kus suur ilu sinu kojas,
Lustid laialt liikumassa,
Luba mulle lahkudessa
Rõõmsalt minna rändamaie,
880 Koduteeda kõndimaie!
Kolikambreid koristelles,
Nurki läbi nuuskidessa
Kulutelin kaua aega,
Kuni kogemata õnnel
Toonaeile leidsin tornis
Kivikoja kummi alta
Ahelasse pandud anni,
Kütkendatud kingituse.
Anna luba oma võtta,
890 Teele homme tõttaneda!"
Kalevipoeg kostemaie:
"Pole paelutatud pulli
Teadeval mul luku taga,
Kütkendatud kutsikada,
Vangistatud varandusta
Ega orja ahelates.
Tunnistele, mis sa tornis
Kivikoja kummi alta
Arulista oled leidnud?"
900 V a r r a k mõistis, kostis vastu:
"Leidsin kirjalehekesi,
Raudakaanel raamatuda
Kindla ahelate kütkes.
Anna luba aruasja,
Vana kirja kaasa võtta!"
Kange Kalevite poega,
Kes see kütkendatud kirjast
Midagi ei mäletanud
Ega teadnud tähendada,
910 Kuhu vana Kalev tarka
Pika elu pärandusest
Tululikke tarkusida
Palju lasknud üles panna,
Kus sees käsud kinnitatud,
Õigust selgest′ õpetatud,
Kuningalle kuulutatud,
Alamaile avaldatud.
Kallim veel kui kuld ja hõbe
Seisis kütkendatud kirjas
920 Vanaaegne vaba põli,
Meie meestepoege priius,
Kehvemate kaunim vara.
Kallist vara tahtis Varrak
Oma maale õnneks viia.
Lustipidu pohmelusel
Kalevipoeg pajatama:
"Võta kirjad, vana Varrak,
Talveööde ajaviiteks
Lambivalgel lugemiseks!
930 Võid ehk mõnda võõrikuida,
Tühja jutu tükikesi
Lehtedesta üles leida."
S u l e v i p o e g sõitlemaie,
O l e v i po e g palumaie:
"Lase läbi katsudella,
Enne kui sa annad oma!
Kes see kotis seakaupa
Sõgedast′ saab sobitama?
Ega vanataati tarka
940 Kirja oleks kütkendanud,
Luku taha lasknud panna,
Kui ei kasu sellest kasvaks,
Tululikku mitte tõuseks."
Kalevite kallis poega,
Sõbra keelust hoolimata
Laulis aga lustilikult:
"Kui ka kallist seisaks kirjas,
Teademata tululikku,
Tõotust mees peab tasumaie.
950 Sarvest härga, sõnast meesta!
Õpeteleb muistne sõna."
Käskis kütkendatud kirjad
Varrakulle välja anda.
Kolme ahelate kütkes,
Kolmel lukul kinnitatud
Seisid saladusekirjad.
Võtmeid võind ei ükski leida,
Miska roostetanud rõngaid
Lukutabast lahutada.
960 Varrak teadis küll, kus võtmed,
Aga tark ei annud teada.
Kalevipoeg käskimaie:
"Murdke maha müüriseinad,
Kiskuge sealt kaljukivi
Tükis kõigi kütketega,
Miska seinad sõlmitatud."
Kangutati raske kivi
Raamatuga tükis müürist,
Veeretati vankerille;
970 Pandi ikkes härjapaari
Varakoorma vedajaksi.
Saadeti siis sadamasse,
Lasti pandi laeva peale,
Kuhu enne kullakotid
Varrak-taati lasknud viia.
Käsukandjad kihutasid
Sõites juba üle silla,
Lendes linna väravaisse;
Sillapalgid paukunekse,
980 Linnavärav värisema.
Kalevipoeg küsimaie:
"Kes see sillal sõite′essa
Sillapalke pauguteli,
Väravada väristeli?"
Käsukandjad kutsutie
Kalevipoja kamberi,
Kus nad kohe kuulutama:
"Juba sõda sõudemassa,
Vaenuvanker veeremassa,
990 Lipulood liugumassa,
Odaokkad orjamassa,
Tapriterad taotamassa.
Rannast tulnud raudamehi,
Parvel põrgupoegasida
Rahupõlve rikkumaie,
Meie maada muljumaie.
Vanad raugad värisevad,
Naised nurgassa nutavad,
Pisarassa seisvad piigad,
1000 Lapseemad leinatessa."
Kalevipoeg küsimaie:
"Mis siis teevad noored mehed?
Kas ei kangeid kasvamassa,
Tugevamaid tõusemassa
Varjajaksi vanadelle,
Rahuandjaks raukadelle?"
Käsukandjad kuulutama:
"Norgus seisvad meie noored,
Mure kurnab mehikesi,
1010 Mõõk ei mõista rauda murda,
Kirves terast killutada."
Kalevipoeg pajatama:
"Võtke rooga, vennikesed,
Kastke kurku, kullakesed,
Väsind keha karastuseks!"
Viidi siis mehed magama,
Pandi padjule puhkama,
Siidisängi suikumaie,
Udusängi uinumaie.
1020 Kalevite kallis poega
Saand ei unda silmadelle,
Katet mitte kulmu alla.
Läks siis välja vainiulle
Tusameelta tuulutama,
Kurba tuju kustutama.
Kõndis isa kalmu peale,
Istus haua ääre peale.
Aga haual ei avaldust,
Kalmukünkal ei kuulutust.
1030 Vingel lained veeresivad,
Ohkel tõusis tuulehoogu,
Kurba näitas kastekuube,
Pisarpilul pilvesilma.
Vaimuvarjud vankudessa
Tõusid tuulta tallamaie. -
Kalevite kange poega
Kõndis kurvana koduje.

Source Colophon

Estonian text of the Kalevipoeg (Son of Kalev), Canto XIX, by Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald (1803–1882). First published 1857–1861. This text is from the Project Gutenberg edition (#25062), which preserves the 1857 first edition. The Kalevipoeg is in the public domain.

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