Old and worthy Wainamoinen! 
Why so long hast thou been absent,
Where hast thou so long been hiding?”
Wainamoinen then made answer,
These the words of the magician: 
“Long indeed have I been living,
Many dreary days have wandered,
Many cheerless nights have lingered,
Floating on the cruel ocean,
Weeping in the fens and woodlands
Of the never-pleasant Northland,
In the dismal Sariola;
With the Laplanders I’ve wandered,
With the people filled with witchcraft.” 
Promptly answers Ilmarinen,
These the words the blacksmith uses: 
“O thou ancient Wainamoinen,
Famous and eternal singer,
Tell me of thy journey northward,
Of thy wanderings in Lapland,
Of thy dismal journey homeward.” 
Spake the minstrel, Wainamoinen: 
“I have much to tell thee, brother,
Listen to my wondrous story: 
In the Northland lives a virgin,
In a village there, a maiden,
That will not accept a lover,
That a hero’s hand refuses,
That a wizard’s heart disdaineth;
All of Northland sings her praises,
Sings her worth and magic beauty,
Fairest maiden of Pohyola,
Daughter of the earth and ocean. 
From her temples beams the moonlight,
From her breast, the gleam of sunshine,
From her forehead shines the rainbow,
On her neck, the seven starlets,
And the Great Bear from her shoulder. 
“Ilmarinen, worthy brother,
Thou the only skilful blacksmith,
Go and see her wondrous beauty,
See her gold and silver garments,
See her robed in finest raiment,
See her sitting on the rainbow,
Walking on the clouds of purple. 
Forge for her the magic Sampo,
Forge the lid in many colors,
Thy reward shall be the virgin,
Thou shalt win this bride of beauty;
Go and bring the lovely maiden
To thy home in Kalevala.” 
Spake the brother, Ilmarinen: 
O thou cunning Wainamoinen,
Thou hast promised me already
To the ever-darksome Northland,
Thy devoted head to ransom,
Thus to rescue thee from trouble. 
I shall never visit Northland,
Shall not go to see thy maiden,
Do not love the Bride of Beauty;
Never while the moonlight glimmers,
Shall I go to dreary Pohya,
To the plains of Sariola,
Where the people eat each other,
Sink their heroes in the ocean,
Not for all the maids of Lapland.” 
Spake the brother, Wainamoinen: 
“I can tell thee greater wonders,
Listen to my wondrous story: 
I have seen the fir-tree blossom,
Seen its flowers with emerald branches,
On the Osmo-fields and woodlands;
In its top, there shines the moonlight,
And the Bear lives in its branches.” 
Ilmarinen thus made answer: 
“I cannot believe thy story,
Cannot trust thy tale of wonder,
Till I see the blooming fir-tree,
With its many emerald branches,
With its Bear and golden moonlight.” 
This is Wainamoinen’s answer: 
“Wilt thou not believe my story?