pillow exhausted. He lay for so long a while with closedeyes, that both the dame and Elsa grew frightened; but presentlyhe again looked at them, his vision becoming brighter; in a littlewhile all seemed to grow clear to him. He gazed kindly at Elsa, forsomething about the little girl seemed strangely to soften the old man.He noticed her little kantele, and it seemed to interest him, as hemotioned her to lay it beside him. He looked at it a while, and triedonce or twice to touch its strings to music, but his strength failedhim.
Presently, he said feebly:
“Ah, I thought thou wert Aino come back for me!—but never mind—therune thou wishest, I can not show thee its music now,”—here he lookedsadly at his stiffened fingers, “but the rune itself, yes, thou shalthave it, little one!” Then he added slowly, as he gazed dreamily intoElsa’s shining eyes:
“For thou, too, wilt love it truly!”
Here, as he paused a while, Dame Ulricborg could scarcely hide heramazement, knowing how often before he had wilfully refused the samerequest from others. Indeed, the peasant Ulricborg had all his lifeloved poetry with a singular passion; and this particular rune, whichhad come down in his family, he seemed to set apart as something almostsacred; he treasured its verses as misers hoard gold pieces. Whether hethought it too beautiful to be made overcommon, or for what reason, noone knew; that was his oddity. So, while he sang it sometimes to thosehe considered worthy, he would teach it to none.
And now at last, as he promised it to Elsa, Dame Ulricborg thoughtsadly that the promise came too late; for how could he teach it to thelittle girl, when every breath was such weary effort? And she knew hewas unable to write readily even if he had the strength.
But having rested a little, he motioned her to bend down, and then hewhispered something to her. She listened with a look of surprise, andthen hastened into the living room, and opening a little cupboard,searched, till in the farthest corner she found a small box, and thisshe brought to the bedside. As she opened it, out fluttered some thinold sheets of paper, closely written over and yellow with age.
The old man’s eyes kindled as he saw these, and as he marked the uttersurprise of his wife.
“Ah, dear heart,” he said, “thou didst not know—the priest wrote downthe words for me—long ago—I loved it—and wished to keep it—and Ihid it away”—but here the dying peasant, too exhausted for furtherspeech, paused, and then, turning to Elsa the blue eyes from which thelight was swiftly fading, murmured to her:
“Take it, little one; ’tis the rune—do with it as thou wilt.”
Elsa was so overcome that she fell to crying bitterly, and neither shenor Dame Ulricborg noticed the sound of sleighbells, for the groundwas covered with a light snow. In a few minutes, however, the cottagedoor opened, and in came Elsa’s father, all anxiety for the safety ofhis little girl. When Elsa, hearing him, came into the living room, hecaught her in his arms and kissed her passionately, for he had beengreatly alarmed on learning of her journey, and had set off in hothaste to find her.
Herr Lönnrot, too, who had grown much better, had insisted on comingwith him, and was even then slowly walking toward the cottage door,for he was still feeble from his illness. He, too, was delighted tofind Elsa safely cared for; but both he and Elsa’s father hushed theirvoices when she told them of the peasant Ulricborg. They steppedsoftly into the other room, and Herr Lönnrot’s practised eye, foryou remember he was a physician, at once saw that his skill could donothing to help the old man. As the Herr gently smoothed the coverlidthe sick peasant gave a faint smile to the faithful old wife who stillbent over him, and then, as Elsa stood reverently holding the yellowpapers between her little palms, he turned to her a long lingering lookthat seemed to say:
“Farewell, little one! and farewell to the beloved song, that I havecherished so jealously all these years. I must leave thee now, but Ileave thee in loving hands—farewell.” And then peacefully, as the wifelaid her withered cheek close to his, his spirit passed away to findtheir little Aino.
Afterward, when Elsa gave to Herr Lönnrot the precious papers on whichthe rune was written, at first he looked at them in amazement; but hisheart filled with delight when he learned what the papers contained. Hedrew Elsa to him, and kissing her forehead declared that she had notonly pleased him beyond measure, but had done honor to old Finland inhelping complete the immortal poem he was striving to save.
When, some weeks later, Herr Lönnrot went away, after providing forthe comfort of Dame Ulricborg, he journeyed back to Helsingfors, thecapital city of Finland; and told the scholars who were studying thepoetry of the land how the little girl had been the means of bringingto light one of the most beautiful of the runes. Then the scholarshad a little silver medal made which they sent to Elsa, and which shetook great pride in keeping through all her life; and no doubt hergreat-grandchildren still keep it to this day.
As for Herr Lönnrot, he lived to put together the runes he hadcollected, and when he had finished he called the poem “Kalevala,”which in our language means “Land of Heroes,” because it tells thewonderful story of the heroes of that ancient land.
And some day, perhaps, you will read this “Kalevala,” for it is one ofthe noblest and most beautiful poems in all the world. And then whenyou come to the rune which tells of the birth of the harp, you too willbe glad that the little Finnish girl was the means of saving it frombeing lost forever.