Jolly Matti
There lived an old man and an old woman. They had two sons. The older one’s name was Toivo. He was a good, hard-working man, but very gloomy. He would never laugh or sing. One thing he knew was smoking a pipe and letting the smoke out. He fished at the lake without saying a word, chopped a pine tree in a forest without saying a word, built skis and again no word. That's why they called him Toivo-no-smiles.
And the younger one was called Matti. He was a good boy. When working he sang songs, when talking he laughed happily. He was also able to play the psaltery-kantele. As soon as the strings begin to pluck no one could stand still, everyone was dancing. That's why everyone called him Matti the Jolly man.
Once Toivo went to the woods to collect firewood. He took the sledge to the side and began to chop. There was a knocking and cracking in the forest.
And near the pine tree was a bear's den.
The owner-bear woke up:
“Hey, who's knocking? Who's keeping me awake?”
The bear came out of the den, looked: a guy chopping pine, chips from the axe in all directions flying. Oh, the bear got angry:
“Why are you knocking in my forest, not letting me sleep? Why do you smoke? Get out!”
The bear stood on his paws and kicked Toivo; only his jacket rattled.
Toivo out of fear dropped his axe, rolled in the snow and rolled over and fell straight into the sledge. The horse got frightened, yanked and dragged the sledge through the snow drifts, stumps, glades and took Toivo out of the woods.
Toivo came home; no wood, no axe, his jacket torn and he was hardly alive. But what could he do? And he needed wood - there was nothing to heat the stove.
Matti the Jolly man went to the forest. He took an axe and a kantele, got in his sleigh and drove off. On his way he played and sang.
Matti the Jolly man came to the forest and saw a pine tree with a cleaver on one side and an axe lying in the snow beside it.
“Hey, that's my brother Toivo chopping!”
Matti took the sledge aside, picked up the axe and was about to chop the pine tree, but changed his mind.
“Let me play the kantele first; it would be more fun!"
That was Matti the Jolly man!
He sat down on a stump and started playing. The woods were ringing.
The owner-bear woke up:
“Who's that ringing? Who's tickling my ears?”
The bear came out of his den and saw: a guy playing kantele, hat on the back of his head, round eyebrows, cheeks cheerful; he was singing a song.
The bear wanted to dash at Matti, but could not, for his legs were beckoning him to dance.
The bear began to dance, howled and roared:
”Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”
Matti stopped playing the kantele. The bear took a breath and said:
“Hey, boy! Teach me to play the kantele!”
“I can," said Matti the Jolly man. "Why shouldn’t I?”
He put the kantele in the bear's paws. And the bear's paws were thick, and he stroke the strings; oh, how badly he played!
“No,” Matti said, “you play badly! You must make your paws thinner.”
“Do it!” The bear shouted.
“Well, have it your way!”
Matti led the bear to a thick fir tree, cut it down with his axe and puts a wedge in the gap.
“Hold it there, master, until I tell you to take it out!”
The bear put his paws into the gap, and Matti hit the wedge with his axe! The wedge flew out and pinched the bear's paws. The bear roared, and Matti laughed:
“Bear it, bear it, as long as your paws are thinner.”
“I don't want to play!” The bear bellowed. “Go on with you and your kantele, let me go!”
“Will you scare people? Will you chase them out of the forest?”
“I won't!” The bear roared. “Just let me go!”
Matti drove the wedge into the crack, pulled out the bear's paws and climbed quickly into the den.
“Look,” Matti said, “don't forget your promise! Or I'll come and remind you of it!”
Matti chopped a sledge full of pine-tree firewood and left the forest. On his way he played his kantele and sang.
That was Matti the Jolly man!
Since then the bear stopped attacking people. When he hears human voice and the sound of the axe, he thinks, "Isn't Matti here?" And he lies quietly in his den.
