--- title: The Unfinished Boat — The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North · full text with trees description: The Unfinished Boat, «The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North» by James Baldwin: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: Never were two pledged lovers more stanch and true than the ancient Minstrel and the youthful Smith, and their affection for each o --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/13/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old No…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/) / The Unfinished Boat # The Unfinished Boat The Unfinished Boat of «The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North» by James Baldwin: the whole text, 163 sentences and 3222 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/13/page/2/) Never were two pledged lovers more stanch and true than the ancient Minstrel and the youthful Smith, and their affection for each other grew stronger and stronger as the days went by.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") The brief summer waned, and the long winter came with its sleet and snow and furious storms; but through all the weather changes and the varying fortunes of the year, the mutual devotion of the two heroes remained steadfast.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Ilmarinen toiled daily in his smithy, hammering out chains and hoes and axes, and shaping things of beauty and of use for his kinsfolk and neighbors in Wainola.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") And the Minstrel also toiled, composing new songs of love and conflict, retelling old tales of mystery and magic, and studying to discover the secrets of nature and of life.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") “Come and live with me,” said the younger hero to the older.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") “My cottage is roomy, my table is large, and my hearth is cozy and warm.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") My mother, Lokka, will welcome you; she will serve you and prepare toothsome victuals for your meals.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") Your sweet songs will enliven the hours of evening, and we will converse often together concerning those things that are nearest to your heart and mine.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") Come\![9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") Come and be my elder brother!”[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") “I thank you,” answered the Minstrel.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") “We shall both be happy.”[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") And so, without further persuasion, he took up his abode in the home of his friend; and Dame Lokka the Handsome, the best of all the matrons in Hero Land, kept house for them both.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") “What have you wrought in your smithy to-day?” old Wainamoinen would ask as they met at the evening meal.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the master Smith, grimy with soot and gray with ashes, would begin to tell of a hoe he had beaten out, or a gold ring he had fashioned; but ere he had spoken a dozen words his mind would wander far away to a low-roofed dwelling in the Frozen Land, and the rest of his speech would be a burning discourse in praise of the Maid of Beauty.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") “Now, sing to us your newest song, sweetest of minstrels,” the younger hero would say as they sat together beside the evening fire.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") And the Minstrel would begin with a hymn of creation, or a tale of mighty strife and heroism; but at the end of the strain he would forget his subject and begin to chant a ballad of love or a ditty recounting the charms of the matchless maiden of Pohyola.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") Thus, ere long, it came about that the two friends were constantly and forever recalling the sweetest memories of their lives—memories which, strange to say, were also mingled with thoughts of experiences that had been unpleasant, painful, humiliating.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") They talked daily of their strange adventures in Pohyola; and now, in the halo of long absence, the Frozen Land was remembered only as a land of spring showers and summer sunshine, and their days of sadness and gloom were forgotten in contemplation of the blessedness which they had felt in the presence of the Maid of Beauty.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") And now her image seemed always before their eyes, and her voice seemed calling to them through the misty and frost-laden air of the desolate North Land.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") Gradually, and by a process unknown to himself, Ilmarinen came to think of her as he thought of the sun and the stars and the wonderful sea, as something mysterious, sublime, incomprehensible, which he might worship from afar but never hope to possess or understand.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") She was his deity, his Jumala, as far superior to him as he, the prince of smiths and wizards, was superior to the beasts of the fields and woods.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") But the Minstrel, old and steadfast, was more worldly-minded.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") He remembered how the maiden had laughed at him and twitted him as she sat on the rainbow plying her magic shuttles and weaving the web of the unmeasured sky; and as he thought of her words and her taunting manner, his feeling of reverence for her was tempered with a desire for some sort of revenge.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") Therefore he resolved that he would get even with her; verily he would show her that he, too, was one of the mighty—a magician unexcelled in power, a master of things seen and unseen.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") And having done this, what would be easier than to make her his own?[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Long did he ponder, and many were the thoughts that came into his old, experienced mind.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") Day after day, week after week, he sat by Dame Lokka’s fireside, thinking, thinking, thinking—yet keeping all his thoughts to himself.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") “He is composing some new, sweet song,” said the motherly matron; and she refrained from disturbing him.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") At last, when the wild geese were again honking in the quiet fjords and the frogs were making the marshes musical, he perfected a secret plan by which he hoped to win the object of his desires, and at the same time add much to his already matchless fame.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") He told no one of his project, but he clenched his hands together and shut his teeth hard with determination.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") “None but women say ‘I cannot’; none but cowards say ‘I dare not,’” he repeated to himself again and again as though he would bolster up his courage.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") Then, unknown to Ilmarinen—unknown to all his friends and neighbors—he set to work to build a boat, roomy and stanch and shaped for swiftest sailing.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") It was his intention, when this boat was finished, to make a secret voyage to the Frozen Land and boldly make known his suit to the Maid of Beauty.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") If she would listen to him and accept the high place of honor which he had once before offered her—if she would consent to be the mistress of his kitchen, to bake his honey cakes and sing at his table, well and good; the fame of Wainamoinen, prince of minstrels, would be carried to the ends of the earth.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") But what if she should scorn him as before?[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") Was he not a magician?[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") Through the power of magic he would subdue her; he would carry her aboard his vessel; he would bring her, willy nilly, to the Land of Heroes; she would have no choice but to be the queen of his dwelling in Wainola.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") The boat itself was to be built by magic.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") By magic spells the beams were to be hewn and properly placed, the keel was to be laid, the hull was to be made stanch and shapely.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") No hammer was to be used in the work of building, but every nail and spike must be driven in the right place by a magic word that was known only to the prince of wizards, the first of all minstrels.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") The place which Wainamoinen chose for the building of his boat was on the shore of a shady island well concealed behind a lofty headland.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") Trees grew along the shore, and there were thousands of them covering the hillside; but they were small trees, mere saplings, and would be of little use in boat-building.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") Where could the Minstrel find fit timber for his vessel?[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") Who would cut it for him?[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") Who would saw the boards, and who would carry them to the shore?[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") The Minstrel could not do these things by magic alone.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") He must have help.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") In a cave on the hillside there dwelt a brown dwarf, the last of the ancient race of earth men.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") He was small of stature, wrinkled, and old—so old that he himself had long ago lost all reckoning of his age.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") Men called him Sampsa, and they told many a tale of his wisdom and cunning, and how in former times he had guarded the treasures of kings.[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") His days were spent in the forest and his nights in the unexplored chambers of his cavern home.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") He knew by name every tree and shrub that grew in the Land of Heroes, and he understood the language of birds and of beasts and of every living thing.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") Who better than he could be the Minstrel’s helper?[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") With a golden axe upon his shoulder Sampsa sauntered, singing, through the forest.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") To each slender sapling and to every beast and bird he said, “Good-morning!” and every bird and beast and growing tree returned the salutation.[56](56/ "tree and pragmatics") Presently the little man paused beside an aspen, smooth of bark, and tall and graceful.[57](57/ "tree and pragmatics") The tree trembled and every leaf upon it quivered when he held before it his sharp-edged axe with golden poll and copper handle.[58](58/ "tree and pragmatics") “O master\![59](59/ "tree and pragmatics") O man of earth,” it whispered, “what do you wish of me?”[60](60/ "tree and pragmatics") “I am seeking timber for a boat,” answered Sampsa.[61](61/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Minstrel is building a magic vessel to cruise on northern seas, and he has sent me to find a tree from which to make the beams and keel.[62](62/ "tree and pragmatics") May I have your trunk, my friend?”[63](63/ "tree and pragmatics") The aspen groaned, and every one of its thousand leaves seemed to have a tongue as it softly murmured: “Surely, I am not fit for boat timber.[64](64/ "tree and pragmatics") My branches are hollow; a grub has eaten my heart.[65](65/ "tree and pragmatics") My wood is soft and pithy; it would never float upon the water.[66](66/ "tree and pragmatics") I pray you, pass me by, O master!”[67](67/ "tree and pragmatics") “You speak well,” said the dwarf; “stay where you are and enjoy the soft breezes from the sea.[68](68/ "tree and pragmatics") Whisper your light songs to the birds, and let them nest among your branches.[69](69/ "tree and pragmatics") I will look elsewhere for boat timber.”[70](70/ "tree and pragmatics") He shouldered his golden axe and trudged onward, deeper and deeper into the forest.[71](71/ "tree and pragmatics") In a secluded valley between two mountains, he found a pine tree, green and slender and beautiful.[72](72/ "tree and pragmatics") He struck it lightly with his sharp axe-blade, and every needle on its branches shrieked as though in sudden terror.[73](73/ "tree and pragmatics") **1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/13/page/2/) - ← previous: [The Homesick Hero](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/12/) - next →: [page 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/13/page/2/) - ↑ back to [The Sampo: A Wonder Tale of the Old North](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66819/)