uth of steel was formed not,
For the Iron was not yet hardened,
Nor with water had been tempered.

"Then the smith, e'en Ilmarinen,
Pondered over what was needed,
Mixed a small supply of ashes,
And some lye he added to it, 210
To the blue steel's smelting mixture,
For the tempering of the Iron.

"With his tongue he tried the liquid,
Tasted it if it would please him,
And he spoke the words which follow:
'Even yet it does not please me
For the blue steel's smelting mixture,
And perfecting of the Iron.'
From without a bee came flying,
Blue-winged from the grassy hillocks, 220
Hovering forwards, hovering backwards,
Hovering all around the smithy.

"Then the smith spoke up as follows:
'O thou bee, my nimble comrade,
Honey on thy wings convey me,
On thy tongue from out the forest,
From the summits of six flowerets,
And from seven tall grass-stems bring it,
For the blue steel's smelting mixture,
And the tempering of the Iron.' 230

"But the hornet, Bird of Hiisi,
Looked around him, and he listened,
Gazing from beside the roof-tree,
Looking from below the birchbark,
At the tempering of the Iron,
And the blue steel's smelting mixture.

"Thence he flew on whirring pinions,
Scattering all of Hiisi's terrors,
Brought the hissing of the serpents,
And of snakes the dusky venom, 240
And of ants he brought the acid,
And of toads the hidden poison,
That the steel might thus be poisoned,
In the tempering of the Iron.

"Then the smith, e'en Ilmarinen,
He, the greatest of the craftsmen,
Was deluded, and imagined
That the bee returned already,
And had brought the honey needed,
Brought the honey that he wanted, 250
And he spoke the words which follow:
'Here at last is what will please me,
For the blue steel's smelting mixture,
And the tempering of the Iron,'

"Thereupon the steel he lifted,
In he plunged the luckless Iron,
As from out the fire he took it,
And he took it from the anvil.

"Then indeed the steel was angry,
And the Iron was seized with fury. 260
And its oath the wretch has broken,
Like a dog has soiled its honour,
Brutally its brother bitten,
Striking at its own relations,
Let t