What are some of the local stories of myth that are popular in Finland that are often told within Finland literature are recited by Finland children?
The epic saga of Kalevala which contain many story starting from the world creation from bird egg and a overgrown giant world tree who block the sun and moon and get cut down by a tiny man rise from the sea where this man learn his song and then get challenged in singing, the challenger lose and in return buried in a swamp to save his life the challenger promise his sister hand in marriage but the girl refuse and choose to drown herself, the man who try to search her found big fish instead and try to eat it, but it turns out it was the girl who transform into a fish, and mocking the man for not recognizing it, the man feel dejected give up on this woman, and his mother suggest for him to goes to northland instead, during his travel in sea riding his magical horse, the girl brother the challenger shoot the horse as revenge, the man end up stranded in northland and cry, the mistress there say she will help him and even promise him of her daughter if he can make her a sampo, but the man say he ask his blacksmith to do so as he know how to make it, so the marriage proposal turn to the blacksmith instead, on his way home he meet a beautiful northland maiden but she give impossible task, such as making a wooden boat out of the bits of her spindle, the man slip his axe and bleeding from his wound, and then an oldman help but in return the man need to reveal the origin of iron, after return home he told the blackmsith who was unwilling to go until being tricked, and in there after making the sampo, the blacksmith gain the permission and try to woo the girl but the girl reject him.
The challenger decide to go to Saari to woo a maiden there but fail to impress the girl he resolve to kidnap the maiden, the maiden then ask his promise that she will be with him as long he don't goes to war, bad luck happen in the family so he secretly goes to war to the northland with only a cowherd that don't fall to his spell and build hatred to him, then the challenger ask the northland mistress her daughter in marriage despite already have wife the mistress give her task to catch the elk of Hiisi and to bring her the brown gelding of Hiisi, which he does.
The last task is to shoot the swan that swims in the Tuonela River but he end up getting backstab by the cowherd who secretly follow him and mutilate him then thrown into the river, the challenger mother notice his death goes to northland and asking around until she found his son mutilated corpse in the river and bound it together to resurrect him and return home.
The man want to build a copper boat but lack the spell so he goes to Tuonela, he resident there won't let him leave, the man manage to escape by turning himself into snake bypassing the fishnet, and later goes to the belly of a gigantic sage to learn the spell but accidentally wake him up in the process, the man manage to build his boat travel to northland again to ask the mistress daughter hand in marriage with the blacksmith follow along feeling rivalry in wooing the girl which end with the girl choosing the blacksmith by accomplishing the task to plough a field teeming with vipers, to hunt down the bear of Tuonela and the wolf of Manala, and to fish the great pike out of the Tuonela River, the wedding proceed everyone invited except the challenger guy, the man contribute by singing a song for the couple, the challenger despite not invited travel there after many obstacle from a fiery eagle, a pit of burning stones, a bear and a wolf, an iron fence fortified with snakes and a giant snake, and demand food and drink but served with beer tankard full of vipers instead, and so the challenger engage in magical singing contest and swordfight with the northland chief which end with the challenger cutting the chief throat. He flee to Saari and there engage with all maiden there except the old maiden who curse him and flee because the Saari come hunting him and end up meeting his mother in a forest hut who told him that the house are being burned down by the northland, wanting revenge he and his friend goes to northland but their boat freeze with the mistress magic forcing them to return back.
Two brother are in feud one manage to raid the family leaving only single pregnant girl alive who give birth to a herculean child and force to serve his nemesis uncle as serf which he secretly want to take revenge and always botched the task given until he was sold to the blacksmith as cowherder, the blacksmith wife bake a bread for him which contain a stone as protective charm, the boy break his favorite knife from cutting the bread, feel insulted sending all the cow to swamp and bring pack of bear and wolf to the house pen, mistaken as cow the blacksmith wife end up mauled when she goes to milking them, during his escape the boy found out his family still alive hiding in lapland and so they manage to reunite except his sister who goes berry picking in the forest and never return, his father send him to pay tax and during the journey he seduce a girl who turn out to be his sister, and she drown herself in result, and later found his family being massacred by his nemesis uncle, so he take revenge by killing him and go to the place where he seduce her sister and kill himself with his sword there.
Meanwhile the blacksmith feel sorrow, making a golden statue of his wife, but feel disappointed with the cold and unresponsive statue decide to offer it to the man who reject it, so he return to northland to find new bride again but rejected by the mistress and her daughter so he choose to kidnap the girl during the journey the girl slip out and sleep with other man and later cursed into seagull by the blacksmith, the blacksmith then told the man the sampo make the northland rich to entice him to steal it, the blacksmith make magical sword and start to goes into northland with the man boat joined by the challenger, they manage to steal the sampo but during the man joy by singing he waking up a crane who warn the northland, a sea battle ensure and the sampo break and fall to the sea in return the northland mistress promise to take her revenge multiple attempt happen but the man manage to thwart it including releasing the sun and the moon.
The last one was a virgin maiden who eat lingon berry and end up pregnant, and give birth to a boy, the boy then meet the man who condemn him for being fatherless to death, but the boy mock him for his unsuccessful attempt in marriage to the point the girl choose to drown herself, the boy then baptised by the god and being appointed as the king, the man angry and ashamed depart in his copper boat, predicting one day people will need him again for new sampo and beg his return, leaving this song to the people.