Bearslayer Part 11

Laimdota gently roused him, and he saw That golden sunlight through the pane shone free.

He jumped up quickly and embraced her sure, Said, kissing her, "You now belong to me.

The shackles broken that kept us apart!"- "Praise to the G.o.ds, praise to the spirit band,"

Said Burtnieks. "The maid gives you her heart; I give you blessings from her father's hand."

"This covenant our two great clans will lead, To take the task of saving Latvia's folk!"- From then the pair the ancient books could read, And of their teachings oft together spoke.

With wonder then Bearslayer clearly saw, That of the books Laimdota took good heed, And well could talk about the G.o.ds' high law, Of human virtue and of hero's deed.

Laimdota tells Bearslayer how the Devil sank the castle

One evening, in the castle sat the two, And thus Laimdota deep the youth amazed: "Now from a parchment I will read to you About our Sunken Castle that you raised."

"Far to the east, past seven kingdoms grand, Rose up a cloud, shaped like a saddled colt, Upon which Perkons sat with whip in hand.

Each whip crack smashed great rocks with lightning bolt, Made humans tremble, hill and valley quake.

Then Perkons spoke and all the earth took heed: 'Who keeps my laws with me the path may take, And to a new land westward will I lead!'"

"But, fearful of the G.o.d, stood silent all, Until the tribe of Burtnieks bold grew.

Its legendary fighters strong and tall, Then said: 'Great Perkons, we will come with you, As pious subjects we will heed your mind, If you but lead us to the fair new land!'

With Perkons at the head, the tribe behind, They walked far to the west, a st.u.r.dy band."

"By savage creatures harried on the track, Foul fiends and giants, dragons fed their fears.

All fell on them, but Perkons drove them back, And Burtnieks's men fought with their spears.

At length they won through to the western bound:- The place they settled called the 'Baltic Sea'.

A fruitful valley in this land they found, And chose the site where future life would be."

"They built a castle there and cleared the plains, Sowed barley fields that Perkons fertile made.

From Patrimps and Saulite came ripe grains, From Uzin? autumn honey in the glade; The G.o.ds' Sons made from it a heady brew.

The brides were fair, the tribe grew greater still.

Both springtime's spirit came, and Liga too; Her golden kokle's songs filled vale and hill."

"Upon the Earth this was the Golden Age!- The Devil, who such fortune could not bear, Commanded that a mighty whirlwind rage, And suck a ma.s.sive lake into the air, Then in the valley down its water pour.

The whirlwind blew until, to calm its l.u.s.t, An old man, who a three-p.r.o.nged pitchfork bore, Prepared the fork into its midst to thrust."

"Another, seeing this, cried: 'Wait, until I say a water spell. Within the gale Is water seeking place, that down will spill And fill our valley should the wind now fail.'

Not understanding this, the first thrust through.

The lake poured roaring down, the valley filled, And Burtnieks's castle sank from view.- All seemed then lost, but Liga different willed."

"Beneath the flood she played the kokle long, So beautiful the rocks grew soft and broke; A tunnel opened, and with Liga's song, Into the light came out the rescued folk."

Scene 4: The story of the creation

The Earth is formed

Another time, Laimdota read anew:- "In the beginning nothing was. But plain There shone an endless light, from which all grew.

No start or ending marked G.o.d's perfect reign.

He was the world's pure soul, good spirits' kin.

The Devil still obeyed his G.o.d in all, Beside him stood and knew not stain of sin, Although his mind was close before the fall."

"To make the world, G.o.d asked of him one thing: To fly deep down, primordial ooze to view, To find there slime, a handful back to bring.- The Devil found the slime when down he flew, But wondered why G.o.d had for it a plan.

To copy G.o.d he thought some slime to save, A handful placed inside his mouth's broad span.

The other handful then to G.o.d he gave."

"'Earth, form!' G.o.d cried, and down the slime He threw, And from this handful formed the level plain.

Within the Devil's mouth the other too, Became so large he spat it out again, Where from the ground it raised the hills up soon!- From His own substance G.o.d a handful chose, And shaped it saying: 'Form now, Sun and Moon!'

To light the Earth their gold and silver rose."

"Such was the beauty of the Sun and Earth, G.o.d loved them both and gave the G.o.ds' Sons life, And to the Daughters of the Sun gave birth.

The largest one the Moon took as his wife: The many thousand stars their children are.- The G.o.ds' first Sons were G.o.dlike heroes all, And Earth's broad lands divided near and far, Among themselves they took them in their thrall."

"The sons of Perkons -five stout youths all told- Then built the spirits' beautiful abode.

He fas.h.i.+oned for the Sun fine steeds of gold, Which through the sky from dawn to dusk it rode, Then in a boat returned to morning sh.o.r.e; Sailed through the night, and in the dawning rose, The while the sea its horses swimming bore -Which Antrimps as his dwelling-place now chose."

The Devil rebels against G.o.d

"Soon Patrimps gave the Earth its verdant loam, And springtime's spirit added flowers and grains; The way paved Pakols to the soul's last home.- But many things changed through the Devil's pains, And were not as they had been at the start.- All stones were soft and G.o.d gave firm commands To shun them while He gave them form apart, And shaped them all at once from s.h.i.+fting sands."

"But here the Devil sought his Lord to mock, To find out through what means G.o.d would condemn, If he should tread upon the yielding rock.

He sought great stones and firmly stepped on them, And in that moment all the rocks grew hard!- Upon the Daugava's bank yet stands a stone, That still today the folk can clear regard, And as the 'Devil's Footprint' now is known."

"In ancient times, on trees no branches lay, With only trunks, straight standing they were made.

The Devil had a scythe for reaping hay, While Perkons' sons forged G.o.d a chisel blade.

G.o.d took this scythe one day-the Devil slept- And with it hay in ma.s.ses in He brought.- Not knowing G.o.d had scythed, with tool inept To use a chisel too the Devil sought."

"The gra.s.s still stood.-Unfit as reaping hook, The chisel was in anger cast away.

The blade then struck a tree and hold firm took.

Since then strong branches all the trees display."

"The Devil had fine cattle but unhorned, With rounded solid hooves and bluish hair.

G.o.d built himself a byre; the Devil scorned: 'What use a byre when yet no cows are there?'

G.o.d answered then that cows he would provide!

Next night he took them from the Devil's lair, And gave them all sharp horns, and coloured hide, And cloven hooves-the Devil's pen was bare."

"The Devil went and G.o.d's new byre soon found.

The cows were there, but strange he found the sight Of cloven hooves, bent horns, and all around Were spotted cows and beasts with faces white!"

"G.o.d wanted then a dog, and to the Devil said: 'Up to the mountaintop this stout staff bear; From clay a creature shape with snout and head, Two eyes, two ears, four legs, a tail and hair; And three times strike it with this staff, cry bold: 'G.o.d made you!' and the thing will straightway live."

The Devil struck three times as he was told, The dog sprang up, its homage G.o.d to give."

"The Devil now himself desired a pet, But bigger far than G.o.d's, with darker pelt.

Hairs of his own above its eyes he set, Cried out, as with the staff a blow he dealt: 'The Devil made you!' But it lacked life's zest.

When 'G.o.d has made you!' were the words he said, The creature lived, and nuzzled to his breast.

'Hail, wolf,' he cried as to the woods it fled."

At last G.o.d chose to make the human race; To do this from the Earth He took pure clay.

One eye and ear alone possessed the face, Though arms and legs the body could display.

'No evil see, nor hear, nor do,' He praised, 'And walk a righteous path avoiding strife, True virtue show, from endless G.o.dhead raised.'- With His own breath then breathed it into life."