Vilpas viisas potsukkainen
In the SKVR edition: [Moloskovitsa - Tyrö]. Törneroos ja Tallqvist. n. 185. 1859.
SKVR textEnglish
1Vilpas viisas potsukkainenNimble wise little man
2Soitti kauan kanneltansa,Played his kantele long,
3Viikon vihmo pilliänsäFor a week played his pipe,
4Perettä nukuttaessa,While lulling the household to sleep,
5Rahvukkaista raavellessa.While tending to the folk.
6Sai pereen nukutetuksi,He lulled the household asleep,
7Rahvaan kaikki raaveltuksi.All the folk were tended.
8Voitel' voilla uuet ukset,Anointed new doors with butter,
9Kastel' kaljalla saranat,Moisted hinges with beer,
10Jot ei ukset ulvattais,So doors wouldn’t howl,
11Saranat narahtelis.Hinges wouldn’t creak.
12Itse kapli Katrin luoksi,He crept to Katri’s side,
13Kapli Katrin kammariin,Crept into Katri’s chamber,
14Nosti Katrilta katetta.Lifted the cover from Katri.
15Katri suuttui ja vihastui:Katri grew wrathful and furious:
16"Ulos, koira, kammarista,"Out, dog, from the chamber,
17Pois pakene porstuasta!"Flee from the porch at once!"
18Tempasi tupesta tuiman,He drew a blade from its sheath,
19Veti veitsen vierestänsä,Pulled a knife from his side,
20Sysäsi sydäntä vastaan,Thrust it toward her heart,
21Takaraivohon tavotti,Aimed at the back of her head,
22Teki vuotehet veriin.Made the bed bloody.
23Katri kahta kämmentänsä:Katri wrung her hands:
24"Voi mie poloinen piika,"Oh, wretched maid am I,
25Tappoin miehen, saatoin päähen,I killed a man, caused his death,
26Saatoin sakkohon isoni,Brought my father to ruin,
27Huoleheen hyvän emmoin!"My good mother into grief!"
28Katri Suomehen pakkoon.Katri fled to Finland,
29Suomen neiot sotkemassa,Finland’s maids were braiding,
30Päät-valot valostamassa.Brightening head-scarves.
31Kysyi Suomen neitoloilta:She asked Finland’s maidens:
32"Onko Suomessa tilaa,"Is there room in Finland,
33Mihin peitän pilloniekka,Where to hide this thief,
34Pakenen paha tekiä?"Fleeing my wicked deed?"
35Suomen neiot vastasivat:Finland’s maidens answered:
36"Ei oo Suomessa tilaa,"No room in Finland,
37Suomi on täynnä soltaatia,Finland’s full of soldiers,
38Kaik' on miekan kantajia;All are sword-carriers;
39Kaksin miekoin miehen vyöllä,Two swords on each man’s belt,
40Kaksin pyssylöin olalla."Two guns on every shoulder."
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.
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-012790 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.