Runes XLIV and XLV. Wainamoinen therefore proceeds to construct a second harp from the wood of the birch, while Louhi, who has returned northward but who still owes him a grudge, sends down from the north nine fell diseases,—­colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague, consumption, gout, sterility, and cancer,—­all of which Wainamoinen routs by means of the vapor baths which he discovers.

Rune XLVI. Hearing that Wainamoinen prospers in spite of all she can do, Louhi is so disappointed that she sends a magic bear to devour him and his brother.  But, hearing this monster is coming, Wainamoinen directs the blacksmith to make him a wonderful spear, with which he slays the bear, whose skin and flesh prove a boon to his people.

Runes XLVII and XLVIII. Still angry, Louhi steals from Wainamoinen the sun, moon, and fire, and thus all the homes in Kalevala are cold, dark, and cheerless.  Gazing downward, Ukko, king of the heaven, wonders because he sees no light, and sends down a flash of lightning, which, after striking the earth, drops into the sea and is swallowed by a pike.  This fiery mouthful, however, proves so uncomfortable, that the fish swims madly around until swallowed by another.  Learning that the fire-ball is now in a pike, Wainamoinen fishes until he secures that greedy denizen of the deep.  Opening his quarry, he seizes the lightning, which burns his fingers so badly that he drops it, until he decides to convey it to his people in the wood of an elm.

Rune XLIX. Although fire is thus restored to mankind, the sun and the moon are still missing.  Ilmarinen therefore forges a magnificent silver moon and golden sun, in the vain hope of replacing the orbs which Louhi has stolen, and which are hidden in the cave where she once treasured the Sampo.  Discovering this fact by magic means, Wainamoinen starts out in quest of sun and moon, and, by changing himself into a pike to cross the river, reaches the land of Louhi, defeats her sons, and finds the orbs he is seeking guarded by a multitude of snakes.  Although Wainamoinen slays these keepers, he cannot recover the captive sun or moon until Louhi, who has meantime assumed the form of an eagle and then of a dove, sends them back to Kalevala, where their return is hailed with joy.

  “Greetings to thee, Sun of fortune;
  Greetings to thee, Moon of good-luck;
  Welcome sunshine, welcome moonlight;
  Golden is the dawn of morning! 
  Free art thou, O Sun of silver,
  Free again, O Moon beloved,
  As the sacred cuckoo’s singing,
  As the ring-dove’s liquid cooing. 
    Rise, thou silver Sun, each morning,
  Source of light and life hereafter,
  Bring us daily joyful greetings,
  Fill our homes with peace and plenty,
  That our sowing, fishing, hunting,
  May be prospered by thy coming. 
  Travel on thy daily journey,
  Let the Moon be ever with thee;
  Glide along thy way rejoicing,
  End thy journeyings in slumber;
  Rest at evening in the ocean,
  When thy daily cares have ended,
  To the good of all thy people,
  To the pleasure of Wainola,
  To the joy of Kalevala!”