Hihoin päivän kirvestäin
In the SKVR edition: Vuole, Sohvola. Bor. 228. 23/3 89. Ontroppi Melnikov, 53 v.
SKVR textEnglish
1Hihoin päivän kirvestäin,I skied a day's axe-journey,
2Toisen päivän toista puolta,The second day's other half,
3Kolmannen koko terreän.The third day entirely.
4Mie käin piittä pitkäm matka,I walked a long journey without pause,
5Tuluksitta tumman korvan.Unreaching the dark forest's edge.
6Tul miu honka vastahain.My pine tree came against me.
7Aloin honkalta kysell:I began to ask the pine:
8"Syntyykös veno siust?""Will a boat be born from you?"
9Honka vaste vastajiel:The pine answered:
10"Ei synny veno miust,"No boat is born from me,
11Mato moant juurillain,A worm gnaws at my roots,
12Lint on oksai levänt."A bird spreads on my branches."
13Isin kerra, synty laita,I struck once, a plank was born,
14Isin toise, synty toine,Struck twice, another formed,
15Kolmannell koko venoin.On the third, the whole boat.
16Pani valko valjahii,Put white into the harnesses,
17Pani hiiraka hilloin,Placed the gray quietly,
18Ettie emä hevoise.For the mother horse.
19Siitt (mie) vei veno vesill,Then I brought the boat to water,
20Laitoi toise(n) laita puolePlaced the other side's plank,
21Sulkapeätä sulholoin,Feather-hats for the grooms,
22Laitoin toise laita puolaPlaced the other side's plank,
23Keräpäitä keukosiin,Curly-heads for the maidens,
24Its käin keskelle venosen.I myself stepped into the boat's center.
25Siitt kui sousi, airo nousi,*Then as it surged, the oar rose,*
26Sousi Suomen rantasiin.It surged to Finland's shores.
27Suomen neijot sotkemass,Finland's maidens bustling,
28Tina rinnat riukamass,Tin-decorated chests gleaming,
29Kysyi Suome neitosilt:Asked Finland's maidens:
30"Onkos suurta Suomen moata,"Is Finland's land vast,
31Mihi veä veno vesiltä,Where to lead the boat from waters,
32Purjeheim mie puihem peäll?"To set my wooden sail upon?"
33Neijot vaste vastasiit:The maidens answered:
34"Kyll on suurta Suomen moat,"Yes, Finland's land is vast,
35Mihi veät veno vesilt,Where you may lead the boat from waters,
36Purjeheim mie puihem peäll."To set your wooden sail upon."
37Mäni Suome linnasien,I went to Finland's castle,
38Kysy linnast lihhoanAsked the castle for meat,
39Ja kalloa kaupunnist.And fish from the market.
40Siel vaste vastattiin:There it was answered:
41"Ei uo linnassa lihhoan,"There's no meat in the castle,
42Ei kalloa uo kaupunniss."No fish in the market."
43Vie hitto mokoma linna,Damn such a castle,
44Tul polta mokoma puoti,Fire burn such a shop,
45(Ku teäl ei linnass uo lihhoa,(Since here in the castle's no meat,
46Ei kalloa uo kaupunniss).No fish in the market).
47Alko linna liikahella,The castle began to tremble,
48Toro linnan torkahella.The fortress shook violently.
49Linna vanhin vaikuttoap:The castle's elder declared:
50"Tule siivoll sisseän,"Enter with grace,
51Sovinnolla suojuksien!In peace, under protection!
52Mettä annan syyväksies,I'll give honey for your eating,
53Oltta annan juuvaksies."Beer for your drinking."
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-017574 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.