began to drag for the Fire-fish. But they only caught common
fish, and the pike remained hidden in the deep caverns. Then Wainamoinen
made the net longer and wider and they tried again, but though they
caught fish of every species, the Fire-fish was not amongst them.
Wainamoinen then prayed to Ahto, god of the ocean, and his wife,
Wellamo, that they would drive the Fire-fish into his nets. Scarcely
had Wainamoinen finished speaking, when a little dwarf rose from the
waters and offered to help them. They accepted the tiny man's aid, and
while they drew their nets, the dwarf beat the waters with a magic pole
and scared all the fish toward them. And as they drew, Wainamoinen sang
a magic charm to bring the fish in still greater numbers.

This time the net was full of pike, and they dragged it to the shore
rejoicing, and among them they found the Fire-fish. So they threw the
other fish back into the water, and Wainamoinen drew his knife and began
to cut up the Fire-fish. Inside of the pike he found the trout, and
inside of the trout the whiting, and on opening the whiting he came upon
a ball of blue yarn. Wainamoinen quickly unwound the blue ball, and
within that found a red ball, and when he had opened the red ball he
came to the ball of fire in the middle.

They pondered how they should get the fire to Kalevala, and at last
Ilmarinen seized it in his hands to carry it off. But it singed
Wainamoinen's beard and burned Ilmarinen's hands dreadfully, and then it
jumped out of their reach and rolled off over field and forest, burning
everything in its course. Wainamoinen hastened after it, and at length
caught it hidden in a mass of punk-wood. Then he took it and put it,
wood and all, in a copper box and hastened off home. Thus the fire
returned to Kalevala.

But Ilmarinen, suffering great agony from his burnt hands, hastened to
the sea to lave them in the cool water. And he called up the ice and
frost and snow to come and cool his parched hands, and, when all these
proved insufficient, he called on great Ukko to send him some healing
balm to take away the cruel torture. And Ukko granted his prayer and his
hands were healed. Then Ilmarinen returned home and rejoiced to find
that Wainamoinen had already brought the fire thither.

[Illustration]

THE RESTORATION OF THE SUN AND MOON

Though the Fire had been restored to Kalevala, still the golden Moon and
the silver Sun were lost, and the frost came and killed the c