Chapter XXXI: Section II: Orphan and Foundling Stories (3)

Pärtel went home and lay down to sleep before dawn, but his
rest was disturbed by wonderfully varied dreams, some
beautiful, some hideous. He sprang up with a shriek, for a
dream showed him the white snake coiling round his breast and
suffocating him. But he thought no more of this horrible
picture, and firmly resolved to release the princess from the
bonds of enchantment, even if he himself should perish.
Nevertheless his heart failed him more and more as the sun sank
nearer the horizon. At the appointed time he stood by the stone
under the lime-tree, and gazed, sighing, towards heaven,
praying for strength and courage, that he might not tremble
with weakness when the snake should coil round his body and
kiss him. Suddenly he remembered the lucky egg: he took the
little box from his pocket, opened it, and took
[Pg 319]
the little egg, which was not larger than that of a sparrow,
between his fingers.

At this moment the snow-white snake glided from under the stone, wound round his body, and had just raised her head to kiss him, when—he himself knew not how it happened—he pushed the lucky egg into her mouth. His heart froze within him, but he stood firm, without shrinking, till the snake had kissed him three times. A tremendous flash and crash followed, as if the stone had been struck by lightning, and amid the loud pealing of the thunder, Pärtel fell on the ground like one dead, and knew nothing more of what happened to him.

But at this terrible moment the bondage of the enchantment was
loosened, and the royal maiden was released from her long
captivity. When Pärtel awakened from his heavy swoon, he found
himself lying on cushions of white silk in a magnificent glass
room of a sky-blue colour. The fair maiden knelt by his
bedside, patted his cheek, and cried out, when he opened his
eyes, "Thanks to the Heavenly Father who has heard my prayer,
and a thousand thousand thanks to you, dear youth, who released
me from my long enchantment! Take my kingdom as your reward,
along with this beautiful palace, and
[Pg 320]
all my treasures, and if you will, accept me also as your
bride into the bargain! You shall always live here in
happiness, as befits the lord of the lucky egg. Hitherto your
lot has been as that of your godfather, but now you succeed to
a better lot, such as fell to your godmother."

No one could now come between Pärtel and his happiness and good fortune, and all the unknown longings of his heart, which constantly drew him back under the lime-tree, were finally laid to rest. He lived apart from the world with his dear bride in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness until his death.

But great sorrow was caused by his disappearance, both in the village, and in the farm-house where he had worked, and where he was much loved for his steady quiet ways. All the people went out to look for him, and their first visit was to the lime-tree which Pärtel was accustomed to visit so often, and towards which they had seen him going on the previous evening. Great was the amazement of the people when they found no trace of either Pärtel, the lime-tree, or the stone. The little spring near was dried up, and no trace of anything that had thus vanished was ever again beheld by human eyes.

[Pg 321]

Kreutzwald relates several other stories of young adventurers who go forth into the world to seek their fortunes with the aid of powerful protectors.

In one of these, "The Magician in the Pocket," a young man releases a magician who had been imprisoned by his enemy under a great stone, after which the magician accompanies him in his wanderings in the form of a flea, and helps him to deliver four princesses from enchantment, one of whom he marries. In another, "The God-Daughter of the Rock-Maidens," a young girl named Maasika (Strawberry) is taken down into an underground region by her godmothers, the rock-spirits, one of whom her mother had once aided when in distress. When she is grown up, she goes out into the world, kills the king of the serpents, and disenchants a king, queen, and prince, who prove to be the parents and brother of her godmothers, and she marries the prince. In a third story, "The Foundling," the hero likewise goes out in a similar manner, and meets with various adventures before marrying a princess.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]
This is specially noticeable in the manner in which
the story of the Great Oak Tree is scattered in
disjointed fragments through three cantos; and in the
unsuccessful result of the Kalevide's voyage, when he
reaches his goal after his return by a land journey.

[2]
Kirby in "Papers and Transactions of International
Folk-lore Congress of 1891," p. 429.

[3]
Further information on most of the subjects discussed
in the Introduction will be found in the Notes and
Index.

[4]
The names of the others are not mentioned, but later
in the poem we meet with three heroes, the sons of
Alev, Olev, and Sulev respectively, associated with
the son of Kalev, and spoken of as his cousins. Alev
and Sulev may have been the brothers of Kalev.

[5]
The Prince of Hades, literally Hornie.

[6]
Hades or Hell.

[7]
Linda's Bosom, the Kalevide's capital, named in honour
of his mother; now Revel.

[8]
Ukko, the principal god of the Finns and Esthonians,
is frequently called Taara in the _Kalevipoeg_. This
name is not used in Finnish; but Tora is the name of
God among the Chuvash of Kasan.

[9]
In the Finnish _Kalevala_, Väinämöinen is represented
as a culture-hero, and as the father of his people; in
Esthonia Vanemuine is usually a demi-god. He is always
the inventor and patron of music and the harp. He
plays no part in the _Kalevipoeg_, where his name is
only mentioned once or twice.

[10]
If this is a Scriptural allusion, it is almost the
only one in the book. The _Kalevipoeg_ is essentially
a pre-Christian poem, and nowhere exhibits the curious
mixture of pre-Christian and Christian ideas that we
meet with in many parts of the Kalevala, and notably
in Runo 50.

[11]
In the _Kalevala_ (= the country of Kaleva), the hero
himself does not appear in person, though we
constantly read of his sons and daughters. Some
critics, however, identify him with the dead giant,
Antero Vipunen, in Runo 17 of the _Kalevala_.

[12]
The eagle of the North plays a conspicuous part in
Finnish and Esthonian literature. It is this bird for
whose resting-place Väinämöinen spares the birch-tree,
and which afterwards rescues him from the waves and
carries him to Pohjola. In several cosmogonic ballads,
too, it is the eggs of this bird and not of the blue
duck which contribute to the formation of the world:
for the Mundane Egg plays a part here as well as in
other cosmogonies. The passage in the _Kalevipoeg_, to
which this note refers, corresponds almost exactly to
one in the _Kalevala_ (xxx. 1-10), which ushers in the
adventures of Kullervo.

[13]
A province in Western Esthonia, called Wiek by the
Germans.

[14]
Esthonia proper; specially applied to the
north-eastern province.

[15]
God: this word is applied to the Christian God in
Esthonia, Finland, and Lapland, as well as to the
local divinities.

[16]
There are many tales and ballads about the miraculous
birth and wooing of Salme and Linda. (Compare Neus,
_Ehstnische Volkslieder_, p. 9; Latham's
_Nationalities of Europe_, i. p. 142.) In the story of
the "Milky Way," which commences Part II. of this
volume, Linda is represented as the daughter of Uko,
and the queen of the birds. We also read of a blue
bird, Siuru, the daughter of Taara, in the ballads.
The name Linda or Lindu is evidently derived from the
word _Lind_, a bird.

[17]
The Sun and Moon are both male deities in Finnish and
Esthonian. In the _Kalevala_ (Runo 11) the sun, moon,
and a star seek the hand of Kyllikki, the fair maid of
Saari, for their sons, but she rejects them all as
unceremoniously as Salme. In the _Kanteletar_ (iii.
6), a maiden called Suometar (= Finland's daughter)
plays a similar part. Suometar is born from a duck's
egg, found by a young girl named Katrina.

[18]
_Muru eit_, the meadow-queen (literally grass-mother),
is regarded as one of the tutelary divinities of the
house. Esthonian houses generally stand in a _grass
field_, entered by a gate. Within the enclosure are the
storehouses, cattle-pens, and other outbuildings.

[19]
This is somewhat inconsistent with the rather
undignified appearance of the Sun and Moon in person a
little while before.

[20]
The cross-dance is still danced in out-of-the-way
parts of the country; it is a kind of quadrille. Four
couples station themselves in such a manner as to form
a cross. The opposite pairs advance and retire several
times, and then they dance round, when the second
pairs dance in the same manner, and another dance
round follows, till they have danced enough. The dance
is accompanied with a song, in which the dancers, and
sometimes the bystanders, join.

[21]
Arju or Harju (German, Harrien) one of the provinces
of Esthonia.

[22]
Kungla is described as a country of untold wealth and
the land of adventures—a kind of fairyland. It
appears, however, to have been a real country,
separated from Esthonia by sea, of which fabulous
tales were told. Some writers identify it with the
Government of Perm; but this is improbable, as it is
generally described as an island. Others think that
the island of Gottland is meant.

[23]
According to various traditions, Kalev and Linda are
said to have had seven or twelve sons.

[24]
This is what Jacobs calls "junior right;" the
patriarchal custom of the elder children going forth
into the world to seek their fortunes, and the
youngest remaining at home to look after his parents
and inherit their possessions. Hence the rivalry
between Esau and Jacob.

[25]
Has this anything to do with boys spinning cockchafers
on a thread? The beetle alluded to in the text is said
to be the ladybird, but the ladybird has no particular
connection with the alder. When a brooch is thus spun
on a thread, a question is asked, and if the motion
stops, the answer is unfavourable, but favourable if
it continues. The flight of the beetle is fortunate
towards the south, but unfortunate towards the north.

[26]
It is curious that the Esthonians always regarded the
Finns, and the Finns the Lapps, as great sorcerers;
each nation attributing special skill in magic to
those living north of themselves.—But there is a
Finnish ballad ( _Kanteletar_, iii. 2) in which we
read of the sun and moon being stolen by German and
Esthonian sorcerers.

[27]
This reminds us of Ariel's well-known song—

"Full fathom five thy father lies,

Of his bones are coral made," &c.

[28]
The origin of stone blocks is usually ascribed to
non-human beings in many countries, but most
frequently to the devil, especially in Northern
Europe. Compare also the church-stories, &c., in a
later part of this work.

[29]
The usual place employed on such occasions in Finland
and Esthonia.

[30]
Ukko or Taara commonly appears as the principal god of
the Finns and Esthonians; Rõugutaja usually as an
accoucheur, but occasionally also as a malicious
demon. Rõugutaja is also called the God of the Wind.
Other authorities consider him a water-god.
(Kreutzwald und Neus, _Mythische und Magische Lieder_,
p. 108.)

[31]
Kullervo in the _Kalevala_ (Runo 30) bursts his
swaddling-clothes and smashes his cradle in the same
way.

[32]
The Esthonian Thunder-God goes by a variety of names,
but is usually called Pikker or Pikne, evidently the
Perkunas of the Lithuanians. He resembles Thor in
driving about in a chariot, waging war with the evil
demons; but one of his attributes, not appertaining to
Thor, is his flute (or bagpipe, as some critics regard
it). It will be seen in many places that the
Esthonians, like all other peoples among whom the
belief in fairies, demons, &c., survives, do not share
the absurd modern notion that such beings must
necessarily be immortal.

[33]
Peter, in the story of the Lucky Rouble, is also
attended by three black dogs. The dogs of the sons of
Kalev were named Irmi, Armi, and Mustukene; the last
name means Blackie, not Throttler, as Reinthal
translates it.

[34]
In the _Maha-Bharata_ Bhima is represented as carrying
enormous loads, and in one passage Yudhishthira is
searching for his brother in the Himalayas, when he
comes to a place where slaughtered lions and tigers
are lying about by thousands, which convinces him that
he is on the right track.

[35]
This passage would seem to indicate that the daughter
of the king of Kungla was sometimes looked upon rather
as a fairy than as a human princess.

[36]
Visits to a father's grave for counsel are very common
in the literature of Northern Europe.

[37]
The story in the _Kalevipoeg_ is very confused, but
this maiden evidently corresponds to the lost sister
of Kullervo ( _Kalevala_,
Runo 35), whom he meets casually, and seduces. When
they discover the truth, the girl throws herself into a
torrent. In the _Kalevipoeg_,