Hiisi hiutti kirvestään
In the SKVR edition: [Narvusi]. D. E. D. Europæus. Fol. III 3. n.219. 1853.
SKVR textEnglish
1Hiisi hiutti kirvestään,Hiisi whetted his axe,
2Kumppani kuraksuttaan,His companion dirtied his tool,
3Viiteen Viron kiveen,To five Estonian stones,
46 kovasimeen,To the hard anvil,
57 sieran päähän.To the notch's edge.
6Mäni puuta etsimäänHe went to seek wood,
7Tammea tavottamaan.To find an oak tree.
8Puuttu tammi vastahaan:The oak confronted him:
9"Ai sie tammi, vanha tammi,"Oh you oak, ancient oak,
10Syntyykö sitä siusta,Will that [ship] be born from you,
11Mitä mieli tuumajaa,What the mind intends,
12Uronen ajatteloo?"The hero’s thoughts?"
13Tammi vasten vastaeli:The oak replied:
14"Ei synny sitä miusta,"It won’t be born from me,
15Susi on maannut juurellani,A wolf has lain at my roots,
16Susi on maannut suu veressä."A wolf with bloodied jaws."
17Hiisi hiutti kirvestään,Hiisi whetted his axe,
- - -
19"Ai sie tammi, nuori tammi","Oh you oak, young oak,"
- - -
21"Syntyypä se miusta,"It *will* be born from me,
22Vellolleis vesivenonen."A water-craft for the kinsman."
23Kertti kerran, synty laita,Once he struck, a plank formed,
24Toisen kerran, toinen laita,Twice he struck, another plank,
25Kolmannen koko venoinen.Thrice, the whole boat was made.
26Sai venonen valmeheksi,The boat was made ready,
27Satalaita lainehille,Hundred-planked for the waves,
28Tuhatlaita tuulen päälle.Thousand-planked for the wind.
29Pantiin purje punainen,A red sail was raised,
30Toinen aimo aivinainen,A second, grand linen sail,
31Kolmansi koko sininen.A third, entirely blue.
32Aino poika alla purjeen,The only son beneath the sail,
33Päivä poika päällä purjeen,The sun’s son atop the sail,
34Kiesus keskellä venoa.Jesus at the boat’s center.
35Laati laivoihin väkeä,He gathered crew for the ships,
36Laati laian laivoiltaan,Took a group from his ships,
37Sukavöitä sulholoja,Silk-sashed bridegrooms,
38Toisen laian laivoiltaan,Took another group,
39Tinavöitä tyttölöjä.Tin-sashed maidens.
40Laati keskelle venoaPlaced in the boat’s center
41Vanhoja tutilahia.Old grumbling men.
42Pantiin vanhat soutamah,The old were set to row,
43Nuoret päältä katsomah.The young to watch above.
44Vanhat sousiit, päät vapisiit.The old rowed, heads trembling.
45Niin vanhat rukoiloot:Then the old prayed:
46"Aha Luoja armollinen,"Oh merciful Creator,
47Pankaa nuoret soutamah,Let the young row instead,
48Vanhat päältä katsomah."The old will watch above."
49Pantiin nuoret soutamah,The young were set to row,
50Vanhat päältä katsomah.The old watched from above.
51Nuoret sousiit, airot notkuit,The young rowed, oars bending,
52Vesi kiehu keltanaan,Water foamed golden,
53Vaahti pallona pakeni,Foam fled in globes,
54Liitoksista linna liikku,The castle shook at its joints,
55Jäsenistä maa järähti,The earth trembled at its limbs,
56Kolmelta kuninkahalta,From three kingdoms afar,
57Yheksältä maan rajalta.From nine land’s edges.
58Sousiit Pentin linnan alle.They rowed to Pentti’s castle.
59Puhu purjepään pitäjä,The sail’s leader spoke,
60Lausu laivon hallikkoja:The ship’s master declared:
61"Pentti pieni, linnan vanhin,"Pentti, small castle’s elder,
62Onko linnassa lihutta,Is there meat in the castle,
63Ilman hällön tappamatta?"Without slaughtering a calf?"
64On meill hällö pieno hällö,"We have a calf, a tiny calf,
65Ei oo suuri eikä pieni,Neither large nor small,
66Ono keskonen vasikka,A middling young bull,
67100 sylt on sarvet päässä,Its horns span fathoms,
68Tuhat sylt on turjalauvat.A thousand fathoms its skull-plates.
69Kuukauven orava juoksi,A moon-white squirrel ran
70Hällön selkäpiitä myöten;Along the calf’s spine;
71Ei tuo otsaa tavannut,It never reached the forehead,
72Päivän lensi pääskylintu,A swallow flew a day
73Härän sarvien väliä,Through the bull’s horn-span,
74Ei tuo päässyt päärajoihin.But couldn’t reach their ends.
75Ei ollt hällön tappajaista,None could slaughter the calf,
76Mullikin murentajaista.Nor crush its bones.
77Noisi maasta maannut poika,A boy rose from the ground,
78Lehosta levännyt poika,A boy rested in the alder,
79Musta pää, kähärä tukka,Black head, curly hair,
80Veren veitsetä lasetti,He wiped blood from his knives,
81Kurakseta kulkun otti.Took his path from the mud.
82Sai linnasta lihuttaHe took meat from the castle,
83Väelle väsynehelle.For the weary folk.
English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies.
The text is that of the SKVR digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), with these changes:
- The editors’ signs inside the verses ([ ], ⌈ ⌉, *, [!], [?]) are left out, as in the poem reader; the letters they enclose are kept.
- The edition’s line numbers are replaced by a number on every verse, counted as in the poem reader.
- The editors’ notes, and the marks in the verses that point to them, are left out; they can be read at SKS.
Source
Text: SKVR (Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot), the digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-007080 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.