Thus the vessel was free at last. But the heroes were weary with their exertions, and so they rowed in to land, and there gathered up the fragments of the fish that had floated to the shore. Wainamoinen handed these pieces to the maidens who were with them in the vessel, and they prepared the most delicious feast from the pike, having enough and to spare for all on board. And they piled the bones in a heap on the rocks.
Then Wainamoinen looked at the pile of bones, and after pondering deeply he said: 'Wondrous things may be made from these bones, if only I can find a skilful workman to carry out my designs and make the _kantele_.'[5] But no workman could be found who was wise enough to understand Wainamoinen's directions, for no one had ever heard of a _kantele_ before. At length old Wainamoinen saw that there was no one who could help him, and so he set to work himself. He made the arches of the harp from the pike's jawbones, and the pins that hold the strings he made from the teeth, and for the strings he took hairs from the tail of a magic steed.
[5] A sort of harp that is sometimes used even now in Finland. Pronounced _kan´-tay-lay_. It usually has five strings.
And at last the _first kantele_ was finished, and it was so beautiful that every one crowded round to look at it. When it was all ready Wainamoinen handed it to those around to try their skill, but they could only make discords whenever they touched it. Then Lemminkainen bade the others leave it to him, for _he_ would show them how to play upon it. But when he touched the strings it sounded worse than when any of the others had tried it. And after one and all had tried it, and found that it only gave forth discords, they proposed to throw it into the sea. But the harp said: 'I shall never perish in the sea, but will bring great joy to Kalevala. Put me in my maker's hands, and I will sing for him.' So they took it and laid it at the aged Wainamoinen's feet.
Then the great magician took the wondrous kantele and rested it upon his knee. First he tuned it, tightening all the strings until they sounded sweetly together, and then he swept his hands across them, and a flood of wonderful melody poured forth from the kantele. And as the wondrous notes resounded in the air, every living thing that heard them stopped and listened. From the forests came the bears and ermines, and the wolves and lynxes. Even Tapio the forest-god drew near, with all his attendant spirits, enchanted by the magic sounds. From the sea the fishes came to the edge of the waters, and the sea-god Ahto with his water-spirits. The daughters of the Sun and Moon stopped their spinning on the clouds, and dropped their spindles, so that the threads were broken in two.