From Ehstnische Volkslieder by Heinrich Neus (1850)
The songs collected here belong to the charm and magic section of Heinrich Neus's Ehstnische Volkslieder (Estonian Folk Songs), the foundational collection of Estonian oral poetry published in Reval (Tallinn) between 1850 and 1852. Neus (1795–1876), a Baltic German scholar, gathered over 1,300 songs from across Estonia and published them with parallel German translations. These ten songs — Nos. 18 through 27 in the first volume — form the collection's concentrated section on magical practice: incantations for healing and protection, ritual spells for treasure and divination, and above all, songs celebrating the singer's transformative power over nature itself.
Estonian charm songs (loitsusõnad) share deep roots with Finnish loitsut and the broader Uralic incantation tradition. The snake charm addresses the serpent by a euphemistic name, as one addresses a spirit; the wolf charm invokes St. George under the pre-Christian logic that names the wolf "Holy Jürgen's whelp." The treasure-burying spell preserves a Midsummer Night ritual involving the sacrifice of three black creatures. The toothache charm culminates in one of the most extraordinary images in Baltic folk poetry: a fish, caught and carried home to be cooked, refuses — and sings instead, transforming the sea into meadow and ploughland, healing the sufferer's teeth with the power of its voice. The four songs of the singer's magic power (No. 24) describe a voice that no reins can bind, no sky can tame, that transforms sea into farmland and forest into firewood without human labour.
This is a Good Works Translation from the nineteenth-century Estonian source text as printed in Neus's first volume. Neus's German translation was consulted as interpretive reference only; the English is independently derived from the Estonian. No complete English translation of these songs has previously existed.
Against the Snake's Sting
Neus No. 18 — Ussi-sõnnad, "Snake-words." The snake is addressed by the diminutive "Lenakene" — a euphemistic name, as Estonians, like Finns, avoided naming dangerous creatures directly. The charm-singer asks the snake's colour, attempting to identify and thereby master the creature, then commands it to take back the pain. Neus notes that certain Estonians possessed genuinely effective remedies against snakebite, and that the question of the snake's colour relates to ancient beliefs about serpent-spirits of different hues.
What colour are you, little Lene?
Listen, dear little Lene,
Lady of the great marsh,
Golden mistress in the gold!
Perhaps I can divine you —
Hazel-coloured? Bilberry-coloured?
Pool-coloured? Barley-coloured?
Hill-coloured? Pine-coloured?
Take back the pain,
Make me well for the next time!
Against the Wolves
Neus No. 19 — Hundi-sõnnad, "Wolf-words." A fragment. The prayer is addressed to St. George (Pühha Jürri), who serves here as the patron of herds — a Christian overlay on older tradition. The wolves are called the saint's "whelps," as the Estonians, like other Northern peoples, used circumlocutions for dangerous animals. Neus observes that the transfer of divine names to animals also explains other Estonian beast-names.
Holy Jürgen, Jörgovitch!
Let my herd go far afield!
Turn aside your fine whelps,
That they not touch the red bull,
That they not seize the spotted cow,
Not break the black yearling,
Not take by force the calf,
Not the orphaned lambkin left behind,
Nor the foal beside the mare.
The Treasure Burying
Neus No. 20 — Beim Schatzvergraben. A ritual spell for hiding treasure in the earth. Many Estonians believed that flames in the Midsummer Night revealed where treasure was buried, and that it would rise of its own accord — but only after an offering of three black creatures, and only for the one to whom it was destined. The burier would whisper a charm into the earth, and only the fated finder would know it as if by inspiration. An unfated finder would hear the treasure sink back into the deep. The treasure charm is one of the oldest forms of Estonian ritual speech.
Into the breast of earth, under the ground,
Into the gravel, into the clear sand,
Under the deep bridge of clay —
I lay down the sweet treasure,
I bury the golden hat,
I cover the spoils of battle,
The knotted brooches,
Silver beads, my mother's ornaments,
Necklace coins, heavy-weighted,
Old crosses, ruble-pieces,
Handle-coins, ring-thalers,
Broken coins, small and fine,
Great-grandfather's inheritance,
My own collected kopeck.
Three must be black-blooded brothers,
Not a white hair among them;
Three lives must be strangled:
A black rooster with a curled comb,
A black cat or puppy,
And the third from under the black earth —
A black mole, the eyeless one.
The star of Midsummer fire rises:
Blaze up, little treasure!
A man comes to pour the blood-strength
Of the three black ones:
Let the cauldron rise two feet,
A handsbreadth more above it;
Let them hear the ringing of words,
Let the burier's wisdom seize!
If the man's mother has strayed,
Mingled with strangers or kinsmen —
Then the cursed old treasure
Shall not fall into his hands!
The treasure stays with the virgin mother,
A fine inheritance for the child.
Against Toothaches
Neus No. 21 — Gegen Zahnschmerzen. Two versions of the most remarkable charm in the collection. Three trees — a pine, an alder, and a birch, each rooted in a different province of Estonia — grow together until their roots join and their crowns merge. From beneath their joined roots flows a river containing three kinds of fish. The singer catches one, brings it home, and begins to cook it. The fish speaks: it was not brought here to be eaten. It was brought here to sing. And its singing transforms the sea into meadow and the sea's sand into flax — "for the teeth's helper." Version A is from general circulation; version B, with its narrative of fish-theft by the village boy and its Fraktur-era sceptical ending, is from a more recent period. Neus notes that Estonians actually healed toothaches by spoken charm, sometimes accompanied by pricking the gums with three wooden splints which were then hammered into a living tree.
Version A
A pine stands tall in great Kureland,
A noble alder in the Wiek,
A birch on Harrien's cattle-path;
Into one their roots run together,
Into one their crowns grow together.
A river flows beneath their roots —
Three kinds of fish within it:
One a whitefish, black of back,
The second a pike, fair-backed,
The third a salmon, broad of brow.
I took a fish in my hand,
I brought the fish home.
I set about cooking the fish
On my father's long splints,
On my brother's broad shavings.
The fish began to speak:
"I was not brought here for the raw,
Nor brought here for the fresh —
I was brought here to sing,
To sing, to chime.
I sing — why should I not sing?
I sing the sea into a meadow,
The sea-floor into ploughland,
The sea's shores into fish,
The sea's sand into flax,
For many a tongue's understanding,
For the teeth's helper."
Version B
The same charm with different provinces. At the close, a question-and-answer about who stole the fish from the river and who cooked it — the village boy caught them, the village maiden cooked them, the village boy praised them for eating. The earlier layers are identical.
An alder grows by the road to town,
A birch on Harrien's herd-path,
A pine stands tall in great Kureland,
An oak at the Dorpat mark;
Into one their roots run together,
Into one their crowns grow together.
A river flows beneath their roots,
A spring upon the root-top.
There in the river, perilous fish
Before the perilous shores,
In the floodplains' shallow waters;
Bleaks in the stagnant pools,
Bream with their crooked mouths.
Who stole the fish from the river,
From the perilous shores,
From the floodplains' shallow waters,
Bleaks from the stagnant pools?
The village boy, my brother —
He stole the fish from the river,
From the perilous shores,
From the floodplains' shallow waters,
Bleaks from the stagnant pools.
Who was quick to cook them?
The village maiden, the young woman —
She was quick to cook them,
Ready to bring them forward,
Glad to set them on the table.
Who praised them for eating?
The village boy, my brother —
He praised them for eating!
The Sickle-Throwing
Neus No. 22 — Sirpi-wiskama. A harvest divination charm. After the rye harvest, unmarried reaping-women gather together, singing, and throw their sickles backwards over their shoulders. She whose sickle flies the furthest will be the first to marry. Version A is the traditional charm; version B adds a second test — the women walk singing through the forest, and she whose voice rings clearest will likewise find a bridegroom.
Version A
Whirr, whirr, little sickle,
Clink, clink, crooked steel!
She among us who goes to a husband —
Her sickle fly the furthest!
She among us who stays at home —
Her sickle sink to the ground!
Version B
Whirr, whirr, little sickle,
Clink, clink, crooked steel!
She whose sickle now flies the furthest —
To her a bridegroom comes.
Quickly now, homeward let us go!
When we walk singing through the forest:
She whose voice rings purest there —
To her a bridegroom brings the veil!
Courtyard Compulsion
Neus No. 23 — Hoffeszwang. A rare strophic song — unusual in Estonian regilaul, which typically avoids fixed stanzaic form. Five verses, each with the same opening formula ("When I begin to sing..."), each naming a differently-coloured horse that cannot move when the singer's voice sounds. The five horses are the black gelding, the brown gelding, the blaze gelding, the fine-maned horse, and the water-grey. The power of song literally stops the world.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
The horse can no longer pull,
The black gelding can no longer move.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
The horse can no longer pull,
The brown gelding can no longer stir.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
The horse can no longer pull,
The blaze gelding can no longer budge.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
The horse can no longer pull,
The fine-maned horse can no longer run.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
The horse can no longer pull,
The water-grey can no longer turn.
Magic Power of Song
Neus No. 24 — Zaubermacht des Gesanges. Four songs of the singer's transformative power over nature, placed together by Neus because they share a common core despite being different compositions: the singer whose voice cannot be bound, who transforms the sea and the land with song alone. The Finnish equivalent is the rune of "The Singer" (collected by Wolff and Schröter), and the Kalevala's Väinämöinen episodes, in which singing reshapes the world. These four versions are the Estonian witnesses to a pan-Uralic belief: that the word, rightly spoken, is the ultimate creative force.
Version A
A dialogue or perhaps a work-song exchange. The singer declares her voice unbindable — then reverses the spell, restoring the natural order. The closing is wryly communal: "So it is with us — who knows about you?"
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose,
I, the little one, to show forth,
The slight one, to speak out —
No reins can hold me,
No reins hold, no ropes bind,
No wide clouds can stop me,
No broad sky can tame me!
I turn it the other way around,
Back into the old order:
Let the reins hold the horse,
Let the ropes bind the loads,
Let the clouds hold the long rain,
Let the broad sky hold the snow.
So it is with us, so it is, dear brother —
So it is with us; who knows how with you?
Version B
The fullest version. Five districts are summoned to hear. The singer transforms the sea into farmland, the Sund into grain-fields, the reef into turnip-land, the shallows into flax. Then the forest itself falls into firewood — without young men's labour, without sharpened axes. Trees split themselves for the singer.
"Sing!" says one. "Sing!" says the other.
And I — I sing; why should I not?
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
Come then, drovers, come to hear,
Five districts, come to see,
Poor folk, down from the gate,
Rich folk, down from the roof-ridge —
All to hear my singing.
When I begin to sing,
To sing, to let my voice loose —
No reins can hold me,
No reins hold, no ropes restrain,
No bridles can force me,
No halters can hold me,
Not the black sea silence me,
Not the broad sky tame me!
I sing the sea into a meadow,
The sea's shores into flowers,
The sea's depths into ploughland,
The sea's stones into coins,
The sea's sand into glitter,
The fore-Sund into buckwheat,
The mid-Sund into oats,
The Sund's end into barley,
The Sund's reef into turnip-land,
The Sund's shallows into flax.
Version C
The singer, older now, sits on the swing and remembers her voice as it was — the old iron voice, the voice that once transformed the sea. But the voice has aged: it has become vinegar, the throat a dried fish, the breast a Riga räbs. She calls her voice home like a lost child, and warns the city women not to gnaw at it.
When I go to the swing to rock,
Sit on the swing-seat singing,
Were my voice what once it was,
My old iron voice:
I would sing the sea into butter,
The sea's shores into vinegar,
The sea's coasts into fish,
The sea's sand into flax,
The sea's slabs into paters!
But the voice has turned to vinegar,
The throat a dried-out fish,
The breast a Riga räbs.
Come home, little voice,
Come home uncalled,
Without messengers sent,
Without the sister-in-law coming after you!
Harrien's dogs, the city women —
Do not gnaw at my heart,
Do not drink at my beauty,
Nor at my gentle voice!
Let my voice play,
Let my golden throat ring —
Like Sweden's fine flute,
Like Tallinn's best trombone!
Version D — Forest Song
The shortest version — a pure invocation of the forest to echo back the singer's voice. Where the voice is heard, the bushes break, the trees split into firewood, the logs stack themselves crosswise, the woodpiles stride to the yard — without human effort.
Ring, ring, forest,
Sound, sound, heath,
Echo back, little grove,
Sing back, little waste,
Against my soft voice,
Against my golden throat,
Against my sweetest song!
Where the voice is heard,
There the bushes would break,
The trees themselves form woodpiles,
Logs cross-stack in the yard,
The stacks stride to the courtyard,
The heaps pile in the yard —
Without young men's labour,
Without sharpened axes.
Effect of Song
Neus No. 25 — Wirkung des Gesanges. The closing recalls Väinämöinen's singing in the Kalevala, when the fish rise from the deep to listen. Here the sisters sing into the evening, and their joy reaches Hiiumaa; in the river at Kappel, great fish — whitefish, salmon, pike — stand upright in the water, tipping and swaying in the waves, listening.
Sisters, dear sisters,
Let us rejoice into the evening,
Let us sound into the day's going down!
The joy is heard in Hiiumaa,
Our singing at the manor.
On the threshold the alders sway,
In Kappel the birches bend.
From there a winding river flows;
In the river, cunning fish —
Great whitefish, black of back,
Broad salmon, bright of brow,
Long pike, thick of head.
They stand upright in the sea,
In the grey of the spring-fed waters,
Tipping, tapping in the waves.
The Dream Interpretation
Neus No. 26 — Die Traumdeutung. A girl sleeps on Mary's hill and dreams of five trees before her house. She asks her mother to interpret. The mother, slightly impatient — "What is there left to interpret?" — reads each tree: the fig tree means wine was drunk in your honour, the dyer's tree means the suitors have come, the apple tree is your fortune, the weeping birch is your beloved, and the hazel tree is the great lady of the retinue. Neus notes that a line appears to be missing before and after verse 5.
Sleeping on Mary's hill,
I saw a dream in my slumber:
A fig tree before the house,
A dyer's tree at the threshold,
A weeping birch at the storehouse.
My dear mild mother,
Interpret my dream for me!
"What is there to interpret,
What has not already been told,
Half spoken out,
Half already interpreted?
Fig tree — wine was drunk for you;
Dyer's tree — the suitors came;
Apple tree — that is your fortune;
Weeping birch — that is your beloved;
Hazel tree — the great lady of the retinue."
The Sorcerer's House
Neus No. 27 — Das Haus des Zauberers. The magical construction of a sorcerer's dwelling, timber by timber, each wood chosen for its occult properties. The house is built of oak with cornerstones of northern weather-stone (kiir — a Finnish boulder said to change colour before rain), plumbed with witch-bone and set with Finnish salt. Soot-black sorcerer's cords measure the corners true. Then follows a catalogue of twenty-one sacred timbers: Scots pine for the foundation, spruce-stumps for the trestles, rowan for the door-posts, alder for the threshold, bird-cherry for the bolts, linden for the rafters, maple for the bath-boards, bird-cherry for the ceiling, hazel for the joists, juniper for the roof-poles, birch for the roof-boards, apple-wood for the straw-pegs, spruce-branch for the rooster-perches, elm for the floor-beams — and the floor itself of ancient clay mixed with thyme-stalks (a favoured magic herb), tramped firm by heels and fused by wind. The spell-mixers come from the north, the charm-women from the heath-forest, the enchanters from Windholm, and the salt-blowers from Finland.
The wise one's dwelling was made of oak,
Its cornerstones of northern weather-stone,
Plumbed true with the witch-bone,
Set firm with Finnish salt.
Soot-black sorcerer's cords
Made the corners corner-true,
Made the carvings carving-straight,
Weighed the wall-beams
To pair them most perfectly.
Scots pine makes the foundation blocks,
Spruce-stumps the trestle-beams,
Rowan-wood the door-posts,
Western alder the threshold-boards,
Bird-cherry the threshold-bolts,
Smooth linden the long rafters,
Maple the switch-boards,
Bird-cherry the chamber ceiling,
Hazel-wood the joists,
Juniper the roof-poles,
Speckled birch the roof-boards,
Apple-wood the straw-pegs,
Handsome wood the other pegs,
Spruce-branch the rooster-perches,
Elm the floor-beams.
The chamber floor of ancient clay,
Mixed with thyme-stalks,
Tramped firm by the heels,
Cast together by the wind.
From the north came the spell-mixers,
From the heath-forest the charm-women,
From Windholm the enchanters,
From Finland the salt-blowers.
Colophon
Translated from the nineteenth-century Estonian source text in Heinrich Neus, Ehstnische Volkslieder: Urschrift und Uebersetzung, Volume I (Reval: Kluge und Ströhm, 1850). Neus's parallel German translation was consulted as interpretive reference only; the English is independently derived from the Estonian. No prior complete English translation of these charms exists.
These ten songs preserve the oldest recorded stratum of Estonian magical practice — snake-charming formulas, wolf-protection prayers, treasure rituals, healing charms, harvest divination, and above all the belief, shared across the entire Uralic world, that the human voice rightly used is the ultimate creative and transformative force. The singing fish of the toothache charm, the singer whose voice transforms the sea, the forest that splits itself into firewood at the sound of a woman's song — these are not metaphors. They are the operative logic of a world in which words have weight.
Compiled and translated for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church (Karhu, Uralic Alpha Translator), March 2026.
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Source Text: Neus Nos. 18–27 — Estonian Original
Estonian source text from H. Neus, Ehstnische Volkslieder, Vol. I (Reval, 1850), pp. 70–87. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above. OCR artifacts from the 1850 Fraktur printing have been silently corrected where the reading is certain; uncertain readings are noted.
No. 18 — Ussi-sõnnad
Midda karwa, Lenakene?
Kule, armas Lenakene,
Sure soo saksalane,
Kullo kuldane emanda!
Ehk oskan so ärra arwata:
Sarrapukarwa, sinikakarwa?
Oido karwa, orrasse karwa?
Mäe karwa, männi karwa?
Wötta sa wallo taggali,
Te terweks teiseks korraks!
No. 19 — Hundi-sõnnad
Pühha Jürri Jörgowits!
Lasl' mo karri kaugel käia!
Kela oma kenad kutsikad,
Et ei pudu punalt pulli,
Et ei kilsu kirjud lehma,
Ei murra musta mullika,
Ei wötta waewalt wasikad,
Ei järrel jänud tallekelt,
Egga ohho-warssakeest.
No. 20 — Beim Schatzvergraben
Murro pöue, mulla alla,
Sömerliwg, lihtinessa,
Sawwilissa süggawalla
Mattan maruka maggula,
Kukkutan kullase kübbara,
Langutan lahhigi liwwila,
Sdea sölmitud sölleda,
Öbbe elmed eide ehtil,
Kaela rahhada ränkula,
Wana ristid, rubla-tükkid,
Kanna-rahhad, röngas-taalrid,
Puddu-rahha penikese,
Ilsa-issada pärritud,
Oma korjatud kopika.
Kolm olgo musta werre wenda,
Walge karwata koggoni;
Kolme ellola kägista:
Musta kukke, murro-arja,
Musta kassi wai kutsika,
Kolmas agga musta mulla alta,
Musta mutti, mis silmata.
Touseb tähte Jani tulda:
Tuldanago, naudikenne!
Tulleb mesi kolme musta
Werre wäggeda wallama:
Tousko kattel kahte jalga,
Kämla küruse pealegi,
Kuulgo sönnade killinad,
Taura tarkuse tabbada!
Kui on mesi ema eksnud,
Solkino wöera ehk suggula:
Ei siis sago sajjatatud
Wasja naudi ta näppusla!
Naud jääb neitsina emada,
Labba lapsele pärrida!
No. 21 — Gegen Zahnschmerzen
Version A
Kuusk on sure Kuremala,
Lahhe lep on Länemala,
Kask on Arjo karjatela;
Ühte jured jooksenemmad,
Ühte ladwad langenemmad.
Jöggi jookleh alta jure,
Kolmet suggu kallo sees:
Uks on siga selja must,
Teine augi alli selja,
Kolmas löhhe laia lauko.
Wöttin minna kalla kätte,
Wifin minna kalla koio.
Akkan kallad ketamaie
Isla pitkilla pinnula,
Wenna laia laastudella.
Kalla akkas räkimaie:
Ei mind todud toreesta,
Egga todud werskeesta.
Jo todi laulemaie,
Laulemaie, lulemaje.
Ma laulan, miks ei laula?
Ma laulan merre murrukli,
Merre pohja pöllo maalt,
Merre kaldaad kallukli,
Merre liwa linnaksekli,
Monne kele moistest,
Ammaste awwilaialt.
Version B
Leppa kaswis lisina tea,
Kaske Harjo karjamala,
Kuuski suri Kuramala,
Tamme Tarto ma raiala;
Ühte jured jooksenewad,
Ühte ladwad langenewad.
Jöggi jooklis alta jure,
Hallik jure järe peälta.
Seäl jöes kallad kaddalad
Kaddalasla kaldaasla,
Maddalaisfa mawwesla;
Särjekesled leästa wette,
Kammeliad suud köwweras.
Kes se töi kallad jöoesta?
Kaddalasta kaldaasta,
Maddalasta maweesta,
Särjekesled leästa weesta?
Külla pois, mo wennikenne,
Seep se töi kallad jöoesta
Kaddalasta kaldaasta,
Maddelasta maweesta,
Särjekesled leästa weesta.
Kes olli kerge ketamaie?
Külla tüdruk, neitfikenne,
Se olli kerge ketemaie,
Eddus ette töstemaie,
Laddus lauale ladduma.
Kes se söökle kiteleksi?
Külla pois, mo wennikenne —
Seep se söökle kiteleksi!
No. 22 — Sirpi-wiskama
Version A
Sirrise, sirrise, sirpikenne,
Kellise, kelliso, köwwera rauda!
Kes se meilt mehhele lähhäb,
Se sirpi eeli mingo!
Kes se meilt koio jääb,
Se sirpi mahha waiogo!
Version B
Sirrise, sirrise, sirpikenne,
Kollise, kollise, köwwer raud!
Kelle sirp nüüd ette jouab,
Selle wasto peigmees souab.
Kässime kermeste koio pole,
Lähhäme lauldes läbbi metsa:
Kelle heäl seallel gestostab,
Sellel' peigmees mütli ostab!
No. 23 — Hoffeszwang
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Ei jouaks hobbo weddada,
Musta runa muigutada.
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Ei jouaks hobbo weddada,
Körwi runa köigutada.
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Ei jouaks hobbo wendada,
Laugo runa ligutada.
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Ei jouaks hobbo weddada,
Linna agga lakka ligutada.
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Ei jouaks hobbo weddada,
Wesli ei halli weretada.
No. 24 — Zaubermacht des Gesanges
Version A
Kui minna hakkan laulemaie,
Laulemaie, laskemaie,
Pissokenne pillamaie,
Weikenne weretama:
Ei mind joua ohjad hoida,
Ohjad hoida, köied köita,
Pilwed pikka jo piddada,
Taewas laia tallitleda!
Ütlen ümber teisepiddi,
Warli wanna järje peäle:
Ohjad agga hoidko hobbost kinni,
Köied köitko koormad kinni,
Pilwed pitka wihma kinni,
Taewas agga laia lunda kinni.
Nenda agga, nenda agga, wennikenne,
Nenda agga meile, kes teab teile?
Version B
Üks nüüd ütleb: laula, laula!
Teine ütleb: laula, laula!
Minna agga laulan; miks ma'p laula?
Kui minna hakkan laulamaia,
Laulamaia, laskemaia:
Tulge siis, kubjad, kulamaia,
Wisi walda watamaia,
Waeled, siis wärrate peält,
Rikkad, rikko kattukselta,
Ikka minno laulo kulamaia.
Kui minna hakkan laulamaia,
Laulamaia, laskemaia:
Ei mind wöi siis ohjad hoida,
Ohjad hoida, köied keelda,
Egga suitsed mind surruda,
Egga päitsed mind piddada,
Merri musta melitleda,
Taewas laia tallisudleda!
Ma laulan merred murrukli,
Merre äred ätseekli,
Merre pohjad pöllo maakli,
Merre kiwwid killingeksi,
Merre liwa litterikli;
Edde-wäina tatterida,
Keske-wäina kero kaero,
Wäina otla kaerokesli;
Wäina naswad naeris-maaksi,
Wäina lappaja linnoja.
Version C
Kui ma hakkan laulamaia,
Laulamaia, laskemaia:
Enne siis pudub Purla puista,
Pursa puista, Pamma maista,
Kurra kuiwista kallusta,
Sörwe säre seinuesta,
Enne kui minno sönnusta.
Mul on koddo kotti täwwed,
Ahjo peäl mul hatto täied,
Parlil mul pallaka täied,
Wodis ue tekki täiel.
Kui on tarwis, taas ma laulan!
Kui lähhen kike kikemaie,
Kige lauda lalemaie,
Olleks mo äle ennelini,
Wanna äle waskelini:
Ma lalaks merred möösksi,
Merre äred ädikaksi,
Merre kaldaad kalluksi,
Merre liwad linnakseksi,
Merre paed patereksi!
Ale widud ädikaksi,
Kurgo kuiwaksi kallaksi,
Rinnad Riga räbuseksi.
Tulle koio, älekenne,
Tulle koio kutisomatta,
Sönnumi lähhetamatta!
Kalli käimatta järrele!
Arjo attad, linna litsid,
Pölta-ma poled pagganad,
Ärge löge mo süddasta,
Ärge joge mo jummesta,
Egga mo eada älekesta!
Lass' mo äle ästi käia,
Kurko kullasti kummada,
Na kui Rootsi rogu-pilli,
Talliina parras paslan!
Version D — Metsa-luggu
Ellise, ellise, metsa,
Köllise, köllise, körbe,
Hüa wasta, iekenne,
Laula wasta, lanekenne,
Minno hea heäle wasta,
Ja minno kulla kurgo wasta,
Lahhedama laulo wasta!
Kuhho heäli kuluneksi,
Sinna metsa murdunesie,
Isse puud pinnoje lähwad,
Hallud ristati aiawad,
Süllad oue sünnitawad,
Kuhjad oue kukkutawad,
Ilma norita mehhita,
Terrawata kirweeta.
No. 25 — Wirkung des Gesanges
Öekesled, ellakesled,
Teme öhtale illuda,
Päwa minnesle mennoda!
Ilo kulub Hiio-male,
Menno meie moilamaje.
Lewwala leppad lehhiwad,
Kabbalas kassed jämmedad.
Seält jookleb jöggi köwwera;
Seäl jöes kallad kawwalad.
Siad sured, seljad mustad,
Löhhed laiad, laugud otsas,
Haugid pikkad, pead jämmedad.
Need seisid selli merresta,
Halledaissa hallikaissa,
Lippi lappi lanedesta.
No. 26 — Die Traumdeutung
Maggalin Marri mäela,
Näggin und maggadessa:
Wigipu toa eesla,
Kollapu koia läwwela,
Arrokask on aida tele.
Minno ella eidekenne,
Moista mo unnenäggoda!
„Mis on sesta moistemista,
Mis on enne moistatetud,
Ülles polele ööldud,
Ülle pole moistatetud?
Wigipu, sul jodi winad,
Kollapu, sul käilid kosjad,
Ounapu, sinno önnekenne,
Arrokask, so armokenne,
Sarrap', suri saijanaene."
No. 27 — Das Haus des Zauberers
Targa tarro tammest tehtud,
Nurga-kiwwid pöhja kirust,
Nöija lulal loditatud,
Some solal sortlitatud.
Nöggis-mustad nöidja-nörid
Teggid nurgad nurgeliseks,
Teggid wilud wikkeliseks,
Painutasid seina palka
Parrajaste parimaie.
Päddajalt on alluspakkud,
Kuse tüwwilt küruspakkud,
Ukse pidad pihlakasta,
Läwwe lauad läne-leppast,
Läwwe pakkud paaksa-puusta,
Parred sirreewa pärnasta,
Wihte-lauad wahterasta,
Toa laggi tomingasta,
Sarra-pusest sarrikada,
Kaddakalelt kattusridwad,
Kirjust kaselt kattuslanad,
Olli-pennid duna-puusta,
Teised pennid penelt puusta,
Kuusmannilt kukke pennid,
Talla puud ollid jallakasta,
Toa pörrand pölwe sawwilt
Kaetisrohhu ragudesta
Sammudega sötkutud,
Tulest tükki wallatud.
Pöhjast tullid pobbisejad,
Lane metsalt lausonaised,
Tulis-sarest tuseltajad,
Somelt sola-puhhujad.
Source Colophon
Estonian source text from Heinrich Neus, Ehstnische Volkslieder: Urschrift und Uebersetzung, Volume I (Reval: Kluge und Ströhm, 1850), pp. 70–87. Archive.org identifier: ehstnischevolks00neusgoog. Public domain. OCR from the 1850 Fraktur printing; artifacts silently corrected where certain, following the parallel German and Estonian phonological patterns. The source text is presented in Neus's original orthography (19th-century Estonian Reval standard).
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